


Hakujitsumu

by DirectionOfTime



Category: Naruto
Genre: And this story is here to correct those mistakes!, Clawing your life back, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Future Hinata/Ino, Gai deserves better love from the fandom, Hinata deserved better in the manga, Hinata reforming the Hyuuga clan left and right, Infinite Tsukuyomi, Ino deserved better in the manga, Intelligence operative Ino, Kakashi/Sakura - Freeform, Konohagakure | Hidden Leaf Village, Naruto is Just Naruto, Post-War, Sage mode Sakura, Sakura and the girls are here to kick ass, Sakura deserved better in the manga, Shinobi Alliance lost the war with Kaguya, They were woken up from heaven for this shit?, inohina, kakasaku - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-06-21 08:50:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 89,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15554076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DirectionOfTime/pseuds/DirectionOfTime
Summary: The war's over and Kakashi is safely back in Konoha, with little else to occupy him, he finds himself gravitating towards his pink haired former student. It isn't long before he starts to wonder if it's all too good to be true. KakaSaku. Other various pairings. Fluff and angst.The cycle of boom and bust is an inescapable facet of life,  sometimes things go right and sometimes things go wrong. And when they go wrong, all we can do is pick ourselves up, begin anew, and forget that we ever learned the phrase "should be".A/n - This work has transformed into a very plot and politics-centric rather than romantic relationship-centric. (Though there will be plenty of side dishes to choose from!) Just a warning to you all, I did get a little embedded into lore and creating new characters!





	1. Chapter 1

**Hakujitsumu**

_Super thank you to NeonAnything for her wonderful KakaSaku drawings which inspired a part of this story and her permission for me to use one of her characters! ^_^ as well as comic strip I found on tumblr which also inspired this one shot ^_^_

* * *

Kakashi stood leaning against the tree trunk as he waited for the end of the working day to finally reveal itself; it seemed to get later and later every day, though he couldn't pretend that he  _absolutely_ hated it. His single visible eye flicked up towards to the still empty doorway before back down to the book in his hand, it's covered was a deadly-dull grey with the equally boring title of  _The Curation and Ornamental Uses of Susuki Grass in Feudal Japan._ So it was a  _slight_  change to his more preferred reading material… or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say that it was, actually,  _no_  change at all. It was still  _Icha Icha_  underneath, but due to the developments of his personal life over the past several years (the most notable, his friend's had laughed, at being his sudden grasp of modesty) had effected a radical change to many of his usual habits and had, for the first time in his life, felt a little bit awkward walking around Konoha with such "adult" literature so obviously on display with his four year old daughter skipping around in front of him.

The doorway ahead was crammed with students in a moment and it was even less time before the subject of his thoughts found him,

"Papa!" She gleefully exclaimed, appearing in front of him in a split second with her arms outstretched, waiting for him to pick her up which he dutifully did after setting his book into his back pouch; he had thought that maybe since she was now in the academy she would start to feel a little embarrassed at being held by her father on the way home, but she'd shown no signs of discomfort and regularly sought out a cuddle from her father whether at home or in public. He himself found it a  _tiny_  bit embarrassing when he was trying to look like the scary and formidable Copy Ninja in front of any visiting shinobi to the village and Misaki found him. Of course, he told others that it was just another skill set in his repertoire, though it was a hard sell, even to himself. Her mother commented, with a cheeky smile, that it clearly ran in the family, since neither female member of the Hatake family could get enough of one of his hugs. Kakashi had rolled his eyes at her choice of words, though a tiny, smug smile had settled itself on his masked lips for many hours afterwards… until he'd again left the house and entered the real world.

"So, Misaki, what did you learn today?" He asked after placing a small, masked kiss on her cheek as he set off wandering down the road towards their home;

"Yuuta-sensei told us all about chakra and how we make it and what we use it for, he says we're going to start making it tomorrow," She chattered in one long breath, causing Kakashi to chuckle slightly at her choice of words - as if they were going to crack eggs, add flour and butter into a bowl and mix it to form chakra;

"Well, it takes hard work, but I've no doubt you can do it," He offered along with a small squeeze before he shifted her up to sit on his shoulder, keeping one hand of her calf and feeling her little hands weave into his fluffy hair,

"How do  _you_  make chakra?" She asked after a moment, "Can you show me?" Because that was such a simple question,

"Ah, well, at your level you have start from scratch which takes a lot of physical exercise and concentration,"

"Aww…" She whined pathetically,

"I know, it sounds boring, but think of all the cool jutsus you'll be able to do?" He offered, knowing exactly what buttons to press to get his ninja-crazy daughter to cooperate,

"Yea! I wanna do chidori and shadow clones!" She almost shouted, causing him to wince slightly at how close she was to his uncovered ear,

"All in good time," He offered gently, knowing just  _how_  much time it would take her - assuming she was capable - of completing the shadow clone technique; the chidori was, unfortunately, beyond her grasp without a sharingan. A sudden mass of orange came hurrying towards them,

"Hey, Kakashi! How ya doin'?" It was Naruto who grinned upon the sight of his former sensei, "Hey Misaki-chan, good day at the academy?"

"You're so  _slow_  Naruto-nii-chan!" She replied obstinately, "The academy finished  _ages_  ago,"

"It's only been five minutes," Corrected Kakashi, "Busy day?"

"Yea, the daimyo nearly talked my ear off and Hinata's been feeling really sick today so she couldn't pick up Iruka,"

"Ah, that's sad to hear, has she got a bug?"

"Haha, no, she's actually pregnant again, even though she'd sworn that she'd never let me touch so much as her hand again after her morning sickness last time,"

"Congratulations… and my condolences to Hinata,"

"Oi! That's not funny! I feel really bad for her… what a good thing for a queasy stomach?"

"I have no idea, but I'll ask or you can pop over later, if she's really feeling bad,"

"Ah, I might have to, I managed to swindle the rest of the day off,"

"I'll let her know, so she can brew something for Hinata,"

"Thanks, Kakashi, but I gotta run, or Iruka'll never forgive me," He dashed off down the road, waving a goodbye at the two;

"Bye, Naruto,"

"Bye, Naruto-nii-chan," Misaki mimicked, "Is he coming for dinner?"

"Probably not,"

"Papa?"

"Hmm?"

"What's 'pregnant'?"

"Uhh…."

* * *

It had taken months of searching, day and night as he sifted through the hundred of thousands of buds before he'd found the two that he wanted. He took it as the middle finger of fate that they'd been within ten feet of each other barely a meter or two from where he'd started his search almost three months before; so long had it taken for him to double back and restart in another location. He'd already spent months prior wandering around, looking for something he couldn't name and as much as he'd searched for it in his childhood, the loneliness found by a world devoid of people he found crushing and intolerable before long. Especially since wherever he went, there where nothing but lifeless spectors dispassionately watching his every movement with invisible eyes. It had taken him months to realise his discomfort and weeks to decide who would make the most sense to wake up first… before squandering months on finding them.

He carefully sliced a kunai through the white bindings before tugging at them, slowly and carefully so that each movement was almost imperceptible; he might as well have felt as if he were the last human on earth, but he sincerely doubted that was the truth and considering his intentions, the worst thing he could do now would be to draw undue attention to himself or his actions. He finally freed the face of his target and watched for a moment at the peaceful, even happy expression on a man that Sasuke, not so very long ago, would have been thrilled to kill.

* * *

Kakashi had set Misaki down at the threshold of their apartment before he searched through to find his wife, unsure if she'd even be home by now or not, after a few minutes of searching he found her lying on their bed taking a nap; he leaning on the door frame to observe her for a few moments. It had taken a few months after the war had finished for him to look around his village without automatically expecting a resurrected corpse of an old enemy to find him, or to stop seeing the shapes of white Zetsu hiding in the leaves of every tree. The days were long and sunny and slowly his instinctive anxiousness that war bred slowly left him and he settled back to his normal timbre - enjoying his time off with a good book high in the nook of a tree. More and more often, though, he accepted the invitations to join his former students for a drink or even a spar with increasing frequency; the very real threat of the war had been enough to cool a lot of Naruto's hot headedness and he was now a far more amiable (and less deafening) drinking-buddy.

Sakura, too, had found her feet during the war, her confidence wasn't boastful, though it was palpable - she'd become so relaxed with everything now that nothing fazed her, not a letcherous old man trying to take advantage of her having a drink, nor a patient with an arterial bleed and not even a ready-to-explode-bouncing-off-the-walls-excited-about-to-be-sworn-in Sixth Hokage that was Naruto. It somehow brought Kakashi himself a sense of peace to see her so at ease in her own life; for so long has she been hot headed and quick to anger it had seemed a real shame to Kakashi for although brilliant, clearly her insecurities were still in her and had been strong enough to fuel those behaviours.

(Of course, she still  _did_  have one hell of a temper, but she had at least learned a far better handle on it, her chakra-charged fist was now more likely to be her last response to some stupidity or other rather than her first.)

It hadn't taken long for Kakashi to realise just how strongly and how often he gravitated towards her when they were out, he told himself that it was really just the little things he liked, like her wry humour or the fact she didn't infringe on his personal space. So he spent most of his evenings sat  _next_  to her as they drank and chatted their nights away between missions, his mind more often than not recalling the moments in the war where he and Sakura had been side by side watching Naruto and Sasuke battle Otsutsuki; he hadn't really paid much attention at the time, but when he thought back on it, he'd stayed very close to her and she to him. Unconsciously almost, they'd kept at least a hand on each other throughout most of the day and her presence had been a great comfort to him.

More and more often they found themselves at one another apartments, sometimes doing nothing in the same space other than reading over warm sake; for a man who'd spent most of his life alone it surprised him at just how easily he'd adjusted to have Sakura at his side more often than not. Wherever they happened to bump into each other on the street or meet up for lunch, a smile settled itself on his lips as soon as his eye had found her form. By the time he'd realised that he wanted more from their relationship and that it was possible, he'd thought himself into a labyrinth of 'what if's', 'why not's' and 'what about's' - so much so that Sakura had apparently gotten bored waiting for him to make the first move and took it upon herself to pose the question and dig themselves out of their friend-zone rut. They'd been on the way home from the bar when they'd reached his apartment (which was closer than Sakura's) when she stopped them in the deep shadow between two streetlights and placed a hand on his bicep.

"G'night, Kakashi, see you tomorrow," She offered in her typical tone before her other hand jumped to the back of his head and she pressed her lips to his own masked ones. It had been chaste and gentle enough to allow Kakashi to back out had he wanted to, though it had definitely been far too short for his liking. She pulled back (he still frozen in surprise) offered a last little smile before she was gone.

The Copy Nin had let himself into his apartment and spent the rest of the night in a daze: between his subconscious trying sabotage him by excusing her behaviour as just that of a drunk single woman and the conscious part of his brain which had dedicated it's time to memorising Sakura's form and then accurately projecting what she would look like naked… in his bed… waiting for him… and what he'd do to her in that situation, needless to day he barely slept a wink.

As soon as he'd set eyes on the kuniochi he next day, though, his questions had been answered in a heartbeat and the pieces just seemed to fall into place. Nothing had really changed other than the fact that they sat closer to each other, Kakashi didn't have to wear his mask when they were together in private and if they started the evening in one of their apartments, there was a very high chance they'd both still be there in the morning. Their friends and been supportive (perhaps a little  _too_  supportive since Kakashi's sharp eye caught copious amounts of money changing hands at the news they had finally become a 'couple' and who had made the first move) and so life had carried on much they way it and before without any more lingering questions hanging over Kakashi's head, though then, he hadn't any idea what was lying in store for him down the line.

After several years (and some nagging from friends) he'd off-handedly asked Sakura if she'd even thought they should get married, of course, if he'd bothered to think about the error with this question (and it's phrasing) would have become painfully clear but alas, he hadn't bothered and Sakura had responded with an ecstatic and emphatic  _"Yes!"_  Before chattering away at how happy she was he asked before she was going to have to, without giving him a chance to elaborate that his question had been entirely hypothetical would she be open to the idea? At some point in the indeterminate future?

Though hindsight told him it was perhaps better he didn't get a chance to ask the second question.

Still, she laughed at him for his decidedly  _unromantic_  manner of asking essentially took the hard work off his hands for the planning. Still, life had not changed drastically for Kakashi, he still took missions, found himself glad to be home and took the duties of being a husband well within his stride. Just about the time he was beginning to get suspicious of why everything was so easy with Sakura when he'd heard plenty of complains of other married men, life it seemed, had given him more than enough respite and decided it was high time he was back on his toes.

He'd returned from a near three month long reconnaissance mission, almost falling through the door to the apartment - it had been constant movement with more than few enemies to fight who'd happened upon him on his return journey. He wasn't badly injured beyond a few scrapes and bruises but he'd been utterly exhausted; thankfully Sakura had been home and had placed her healing hands on him before he'd even had a chance to explain his injuries. It wasn't long before she'd managed to haul him to his feet and guided him wearily towards the bedroom for him to get some sleep, he pulled off his flak jacket gloves and haitai-ate before tugging her to him for a much needed hug, though she didn't respond with her usual gusto and he could clearly feel the equally unusual lump at her midriff.

He pulled back about to ask if she'd put on weight whilst he was gone but her uneasy smile and the fact her hand had dropped down to it made him pause,

"Uh…"

"Yes, I found out the day after you left on your mission…"

"Um…" He lowered himself to a seat on the bed, unable to form any real words or even blink,

"Just get some rest Kakashi, we can talk about it later," She offered, a little stiffly and she pushed him to lie down and after dropping a small kiss to his cheek left him be, as tired as he was, there was definitely no sleep for him anytime soon.

"Hgn…Kakashi?" The present day kuniochi stirred slightly, her eye cracking open to find him in the doorway,

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you,"

"What time is it?" She asked rhetorically, looking at her clock on the bedside table, "Oh my god! Misaki—"

"It's alright, I already picked her up," He walked over to her as she stood up and pulled her into a warm hug before lowering his mask and kissing her thoroughly.

* * *

"Um…are you  _sure_ you wanna do that?" The white, near featureless man asked in a rather hushed tone, obviously nervous,

"It's not real,"

"It's real to them… could be dangerous… maybe there trauma of w—"

"Shut up this is what I am doing, you're supposed to be keeping a look out,"

"Yea, yea, there's no one around for miles,"

"Then stop bothering me," He reached forwards to lift up the exposed eyelid on the man currently slumped, free on the uncomfortable floor.

* * *

It had taken Kakashi a long time to get his head around the idea that he was going to be a father; so much so that he was still wondering how he might phrase the point that he wasn't sure he was quite comfortable with it even as Sakura was being rushed into a ward with Shizune right behind her so that she could give birth. Still, as he found Sakura several hours later, asleep on the bed looking beyond exhausted, he was about to reach out a hand to stroke the top of her head when Shizune reappeared,

"Ah, good, you're here, Kakashi, you might want to meet this one," She grinned and handed small bundle in her arms over to him before he could so much as take a breath, he stared down at the wrapped blanket with a little face peeking out for a few moments before the child opened its eyes to stare back at him.

"She got her father's hair and her mother's eyes," Shizune spoke softly, "Have you chosen a name?" Kakashi ignored her for a moment as he couldn't seem to tear himself away from the enormous green eyes of his daughter,

"I haven't got a clue," He responded a little dumfounded causing Shizune to snort softly in amusement,

"I always liked the name 'Misaki'," Sakura's croaky voice called out, drawing their attentions as Kakashi took a hurried step towards her,

"Sakura! Are you alright? How are you doing? Are you feeling okay?" He asked in a single very fast breath, leaning over her as much as he dared,

"I'm okay, Kakashi," She answered reaching her arms out and he handed her their daughter, "How are you doing? Still thinking about running away?"

"Wh-what? I wasn't—I'd never—" He spluttered in protest, the idea might have terrified him, but he'd never have left Sakura to deal with it all alone; she took a hold of the child, smiling warmly down at it,

"What do you think of the name?"

"Perfect," He flicked his eyes between the, now, two women in his life, "I love you Sakura," He leaned down and tugged at his mask to plant a gentle kiss on her lips, she responded lazily; he pulled away to plant another little kiss on his daughter's forehead, careful not to disturb her. "I love you, too, Misaki,"

Kakashi had definitely been underprepared for just how difficult raising a child could be, as cute and peaceful as she could be when asleep, she was rowdy and unbearably messy when awake. The first few years had definitely put a strain on the previously easy relationship between Kakashi and Sakura and they'd had plenty of quiet arguments which had left a bit more than an uncomfortable knot in his stomach and heavy layer on him, a part that wondered if everything had been a mistake. Those moments never last too long, though, Sakura was quick to try and make amends and as soon as Misaki had been old enough to walk and talk it was a little easier and a little more interesting. One of his favourite memories being one day, when Misaki was about to turn three, he'd summoned Pakkun inside the house (something he hadn't done for many years despite the pugs grumbling about meeting the newest Hatake), the child had immediately fixated on the small dog and rushed over to him. In a surprising fit of good nature on his behalf, he nuzzled up to her and allowed her to stroke his head and ears, until she grabbed one a bit too tightly and he exclaimed,

"Oi! Not so rough! My ears are sensitive," The look on Misaki's face at meeting a talking dog, to what she still grasped as being an impossibility, had been hysterical and had kept Kakashi laughing for days.

Soon enough, she seemed to warm to the idea of being a shinobi which pleased Kakashi and whenever she picked up some skill or other that he taught her, like how to throw a shuriken or dodge simple attacks, it brought a deep pride to his chest he had never thought possible. By the time she entered the academy, everything seemed to have settled down a little more, he and Sakura had far more quality time together and the direction Misaki gained, afforded by academy, meant that home life was a little less chaotic (ever…so… _slightly_  less chaotic). Still, whenever he returned from a mission he was never so glad to be welcomed home by two sets of arms or when Sakura was sent out, having Misaki to focus on made the wait a little more bearable. The thing that had really surprised him, though, was just how protective he'd found himself of her; vainly, he'd once believed that he'd feel as protective of her as he had Team 7 on their first mission - that he'd care and take care of them but it wouldn't be a completely overwhelming feeling.

How wrong he was.

The first day Sakura and Misaki had been allowed home (after Tsunade's endless fussing over her prized student and self-proclaimed god-daughter), Kakashi had carried her and hadn't wanted to risk running with her (not to mention Sakura very clearly telling him she wouldn't be running  _anywhere_ for a good while, let alone hopping over rooftops a few hours after having given birth) so they walked slow-time. Kakashi still found he could barely keep his eyes off the now peacefully sleeping child in his arms and as soon as the first one had ambushed him, he was half-way to burying a kunai in her throat before he remembered that he was still in Konoha and that he knew this would-be attacker.

"Sakura! What are you doing out of hospital so soon?" Ino exclaimed, grasping her friend in a quick hug before she crooned over Kakashi, desperate to take a peek at the child, "What did you have a boy or girl? Can I hold him… or her?" She asked outstretching her hands.

Kakashi didn't immediately comply, his muscles tensing ever so slightly to draw Misaki a little close to him, not sure he wanted to hand his daughter over to a stranger (Ino was Sakura's friend, not his, so close enough, he petulantly decided), though his hesitation wasn't missed by either kuniochi,

"Hand her over, Kakashi, Ino won't drop her," Sakura encourage, stifling a laugh as Ino reached out to take a hold and Kakashi was force to relinquish, "This is Misaki,"

"Ooh!" Ino almost squealed, as she took a hold of the child, "She's so cute! Guess you can't be too ugly under there, Kakashi, to make a baby this beautiful," She teased, sparing a glance at him, though was met only with his unimpressed glare. From there the ambush of people desperate to steal a glance at the new arrival had been an unending hell for Kakashi, especially when Naruto showed up  _with a cold_. At least Sakura was with him on keeping Misaki as far away from the snotty, clumsy boy as possible; even though he whined and pouted and refused to leave the house until Sakura threatened to punch him through the wall. He returned a week later fully recovered, though Kakashi would have still been a little hesitant to let him in were it not for the fact he was already sat on their sofa with Misaki in his arms when he got home.

…

"I should go and say hi," The freshly awoken Sakura pulled away from his hug and went in search of her  _miniature_ grey-haired terror as Kakashi followed her out of the door, they found Misaki sprawled on the living room floor playing with a few shinobi dolls. She leapt to her feet at he sight of her mother and rushed over to her,

"Mama!"

"Hi, Miskai, how was your day?" Sakura swept the girl into her arms,

"Good! I'm gonna start chakra making tomorrow!"

"Oh? That's good news," Sakura laughed heartily at the same joke Kakashi had earlier, "Are you hungry, Misaki? Would you like okonomiyaki?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed an ecstatic smile jumping to her face,

"What about you Kakashi? Do you fancy okonomiyaki?" They both looked over to him as he'd chosen again to loiter in a different doorway, his arms folded over his chest as he watched his family,

"Sure," He answered an undeniable smile on his face, his mind unable to recall any argument that had come before or why it seemed important, he was left only with the fleeting thought that he'd never been so happy or at peace in his whole life and that the both of them would occupy a very large part of his heart forever.

He stepped off to walk up to them but he suddenly felt as if he'd come back to himself after a blackout - he'd already taken three steps but he wasn't getting any closer to his wife and child; the room was small, within two steps, he should have been able to envelop them both in his arms. He blinked fiercely but things only got darker, they only got further away and he only felt as if he was loosing touch with his reality.

"S-Sakura!" He called, but to himself his voice sounded faded, echoed, even and all the while the world was only getting darker, his eye able to perceive less and less until he was running into a great void of darkness, neither one of his five senses able to tell him anything other than the fact he was clearly not at home.

"Kakashi," A familiar voice called to him from the gloom, though since it belonged to neither Sakura nor Misaki, he ignored it; "Kakashi!" It called again and he found himself seeing a growing light, though from where he couldn't tell; "Wake up," The voice called him again and he dredged the strength from somewhere to force his eye open, being greeted with the sight of his dark-haired former student,

"Sa-Sasuke? Why are you here? Where is—what's going on?" He was about to ask where  _they_ were, but his brain caught on quickly and he saw that he was still amid piles of rocks, hewn mountains and devastated trees: obviously not in his home in the heart of Konoha.

"You've been under the Infinite Tsukikomi, I woke you up,"

"…"  _What. The. Fuck?_ Apparently Kakashi's blank and disbelieving expression said it all;

"We defeated Madara and Obito, but apparently 'The Mother' still got us with that chakra tree-thing, everyone else was caught under the genjutsu,"

"…Gen…jutsu? How? I remember every single day, everything from returning to Konoha, to rebuilding to… to… to…"

"To what? I don't know about what you dreamed, but you've been under for six months at the very longest; you're the first I've woken up,"

"I remember the defeat of 'The Mother'… I remember you and Naruto…" Kakashi was grasping at straws, he and Naruto had fought, surely? Torn off each others arms in the process, right? He and Sakura had been side by side for those final days, hadn't they?

"I guess he must have made you dream a conclusion to the war so that your consciousness would more easily accept the genjutsu,"

"NO! Impossible! We got married! We had a daugh—" Kakashi snapped at the Uchiha, though the expression he got in response was enough to have him bite off the last of his sentence, it couldn't have  _just_  been an illusion, could it? He recalled the taste of Sakura's lips, how Misaki sounded when she was frightened and wanted to nothing more than the comfort of her father's arms, how big his daughter's eyes looked the first time he held her or just how beautiful Sakura looked on their wedding day… it wasn't possible for  _all_ of those things to be an illusion, was it?

"Kakashi, hurry up and get your head together whilst I wake Sakura up," Sasuke rose to his feet and waked away as Kakashi was still staring blankly around a world he didn't know; how could it have all been an illusion? He felt every sensation, treasured every memory of every day…

"Hgn? What's happening? Why am I?" The sudden voice of a groggy Sakura reached his ears and Kakashi almost leapt to his feat, his single eye boring down upon her, his brain not given the time to think about what it wanted to see, or what it desired her reaction to be, the only thing it could do was observe.

Sakura blinked heavily and mistrusfully at Sasuke who murmured the same explanation he'd given to Kakashi before she frowned in the same way, of utter rejection of his version of reality from whatever it was that she must have experienced. As the moments ticked past, Kakashi's heart sank lower and lower, realising that everything he had… and most likely  _would_ _ever_  hold dear had been blown to smithereens; still he could not tear himself away from looking at the kuniochi who'd stolen his heart and given him a family… at least, in one reality or another.

He watched as she rubbed the ball of her hand over one of her eyes before she looked back at Sasuke (still utterly confused) though her expression morphed into one of uncertain recognition before her eyes looked beyond her childhood crush and at the wold around her. She looked grimy and tired, but no less beautiful to Kakashi's eyes. He saw as her green eyes roved slowly over the landscape, like a blindman regaining his sight after many years, rediscovering a world whose familiarity was an old, unwelcome friend.

Too soon and too late, her eyes found his and her expression leapt to one of desperate need: the same expression he'd seen on her real— _dream_  self whenever she was scared or uncertain or felt powerless, she'd looked to him with exactly that expression. It was the one used between lovers who'd known each other for years. It was reserved for a special few. Kakashi had only been graced with his look once he and Sakura had been together for years. In his so-called 'dream world'… but still she looked at him as if he was still her husband and she was in dire need of his aid. He resisted the immediate impulse to leap to her side and in that moment of hesitation, Sasuke broke the spell,

"Sakura, I need you to help me break the control on the chakra of everyone else; Kakashi, use your sharing on them." He was already walking away to the next victim.

Kakashi was still frozen to his spot as Sakura blinked and scrubbed her eyes for a few moments again before reconnecting her eyes to his, her expression now less confused and scared, though it held an intimacy. Had she been dreaming of him too? Could she possibly have—

"Hurry up!" Sasuke hissed, clearly unimpressed by their dawdling; Kakashi and Sakura shared one last look before they forced their bodies to move and they slowly began to accept their new, unwelcome reality.

* * *

 

_A/n - Mwahaha here's just a cheeky lil one-shot that occurred to me a evening or two ago as I've been re-reading Naruto (well, from sort of Pein's attack on) - hope you enjoyed! (You can tell I have pretty much NOTHING to do with children at all, can't you? XD)_

_Just a few little things:_

_\- Misaki belongs to NeonAnything! ^_^_

_— Hakujitsumu roughly translates as 'Waking Dream' T.T_

_— I reckon that Kakashi and some of the older shinobi would still imagine that they're on active duty (albeit maybe on fairly tame missions) even in the genjutsu as it's basically all a lot of them have ever done, Kaka for e.g., I get the feeling that the only thing he's done besides not be a ninja was basically be an infant lol so I reckon it would be ingrained in them that no matter what Tobi might have aimed for in the Tsukikomi, it would be impossible to rid all ninja of their ninja perceptions/way of life etc. Plus to have them all suddenly as civilians just seems WRONG._

_— Also, in this fic Iruka dies in the war T.T and I think Naruto would like to name his firstborn after someone important (I thought about Jirairya, but the only association I can have with that name is pervert and it just seemed wrong for a 5 yr old lol) Also, Bolt is a stupid name, there, I said it._

_—Wanna know something EVIL? For one terrible millisecond, I considered making this the ending to Storm Cloud, but it seemed far too cruel and too much of a cop out, so don't worry about that, the ending to that beast will be far more satisfying XD_

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

 

**Hakujitsumu II**

Everything was  _fucked_. As in, royally, ungodly, unbelievably  _fucked._  Kakashi had almost mindlessly worked for the better part of a day; he must have awoken hundreds shinobi from their waking dream whilst he was still in a complete daze. His mind caught in a twisted loop of replaying the memories of his past life and of the day that he'd been awoken and forced to face that some of his happiest memories were all false.

On that god forsaken day, he'd woken shinobi, uttered the words "It was all a dream, you were under the Infinite Tukikomi," before he'd moved on to the next. His brain was still firmly fixed on flawlessly memorising the dream of he and Sakura and Misaki; he knew it would destroy him to fully accept the fact it had never been.

"Hgn…Ka-Kakashi-sensei?" The groggy voice of Naruto reached his ears and he came back to himself,

"Naruto, wake up,"

"Whaa? What's going on? Where Hinata? Where's Misa…" His voice trailed off as he sat up and looked around, "Whoa! Where's Konoha?"

"You were under the Infinite Tsukikomi," He blandly answered before it suddenly clicked in his brain, "Wait, what were you saying? What about 'Where's Misa…-?"

"Huh? What? I dunno… I can't remember… I was in Konoha last, as Hokage… Hinata was my wife…" He answered as he rose to a kneeling position, staring at Kakashi with a concerned expression, "What were you dreaming of?"

"…"

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"…" Kakashi let out, to his own ears, a shaky breath, "You're free now, Naruto, many will look to you as leader of the current shinobi forces, though I will help you until things are settled, they will need a strong leadership after they've all awoken from perfection," Kakashi rose to his feet and stepped away to the next body wrapped in the flesh of Zetsu as it stemmed from the great Chakra Tree,

"Kakashi…" Naruto whispered to himself, innately sensing how hard Kakashi's own awakening must have been on him; he looked around, tearing his eyes from his former sensei to see both Sasuke and Sakura not too away from him. He leapt up and rushed over to them.

Kakashi heard his departure, but he couldn't bring himself to look over his shoulder, his mind was far to wrapped up memorising how Misaki had looked whenever she had stared up at him, silently asked to be picked up; how Sakura had looked at him whenever they had a free few hours alone. He couldn't bare to look at her now and see her face bearing only professional familiarity for him.

"Kakashi," A familiar voice called to him, he didn't look over but offered only a slight half-turn of his head and a,

"Hmm?"

"Kakashi, we need to start setting up a command centre and organise all of the shinobi already awoken," It was a disgruntled looked Shikamaru, "It will take months to wake up everyone and we need a plan for how we're going to tackle The Mother and black Zetsu when they find out we're free," He was right of course,

"Okay, I think we should get away from here and set up a secure post as quickly as possible; gather all the shinobi and have them ready to move in half an hour," Kakashi switched straight into Taichou-mode, despite what he'd said to Naruto, playing the commander's role at least gave him something different to focus on.

"Hinata!" Naruto's sudden yell reached their ears, "You're awake, how are you? What were you dreaming about?" The kuniochi took a moment to gather her wits as she looked around before her eyes found Naruto's and she blushed slightly, "I was dreaming about you, Hinata! We were so happy," He couched down to her and still looked a little uncertain before Naruto pulled her into a hug. If Kakashi had been as brash as Naruto, could he have rescued the dream and have Sakura fall in love with him for real? Unbidden, his eyes flicked to the pink haired kuniochi who was staring sombrely at the scene of the two nin in front of her; her head turned suddenly and her eyes found his, they were trapped by each other: her face suddenly seemed almost expressionless but her eyes were searching for something. Kakashi hadn't a clue what expression to show back, it had been too long and now he couldn't bring himself to reveal anything which might suggest his turmoil.

"Naruto, now's not the time for that," Sasuke again cut across, "We need to move, where a good place for us to set up HQ?"

"There's a wood a few kilometres from here, we should go there for cover first of all," Shikamaru seemed the most together of all, perhaps his dreams had not been so fantastical, as logical a boy as he was, perhaps his deep desires were indeed to be found in the physical realm. The group of fifteen or so shinobi lethargically gathered themselves into formation and darted away to the chosen ridge well within the tree line; Kakashi took charge swiftly, fearing that if he didn't, he wouldn't be capable of doing anything.

"Firstly, we need a means of figuring out who is who under all of those wrappings, Sasuke how did you find me?"

"I had to search through almost everyone individually, it took me months,"

"Well do you remember where some people are? Tsunade-sama? Most of the Leaf nin? Gaara?" Kakashi pushed, though Sasuke just stared at him blankly,

"I wasn't even sure you  _could_  be awoken if I found you, so making off where everyone was seemed a bit pointless," The Uchiha shrugged as Kakashi sighed in aggravation,

"Alright, the first thing we can do is wake up as many shinobi as possible, we were all allied during the war and it seems that we still all have a common enemy so there shouldn't be too much to worry about from other ninja. Sasuke, please detail exactly how you awoke me, or how you would have done it without the use of your sharingan, for the benefit of everyone,"

"Well, although it is of a very high-class, it is still a genjutsu and disrupting the chakra of the victim should be enough to free them, though without the sharingan it will probably take an enormous amount since they're all being by the chakra tre-" Sasuke's words were bitted off as he began to cough, violently, he hunched over as his hand clamped to his mouth, beginning to sound as if was on the verge of vomiting. Sakura was quick to his side as she placed a hand on his forehead; Kakashi could feel his lip curling beneath his mask of its own accord, Sasuke did not deserve any touch from Sakura. His Sakura. His  _dream_  Sakura. His visible eyebrow, also snapped down so low it was beginning to interfere with his vision as he turned his attention to the rest of the group, thankfully most staring at Sasuke, save for Naruto, whose curious expression was fixed squarely on Kakashi.

Sasuke's coughing suddenly got a lot worse as the gaps between his fingers suddenly oozed with blood and Sakura's hands, glowing green with medicinal chakra, were pressed against his chest.

"Sasuke, what have you been doing? You're very ill," She spoke gently, but not without an undertone of scolding all medics seemed to possess, he ignored her as he slowly began to regain control over his breathing,

"What's wrong with him?" Kakashi asked, still not looking at her,

"He has some sort of disease, but with medical instruments I can't be too certain exactly what it is… I need to find Shizune and get the medical tents we set up for this war should still be in tact, or at least salvageable, that will be our primary target. Others might come out of the genjutsu injured or sick as well," She explained swiftly, in his peripheral vision, he could see that she too did not turn her head toward him or take her eyes off her impromptu patient.

"Hai, whatever medics are awoken will be sent to you, how far are the tents?"

"About ten or so kilometres from here, I would assume most of the medics will still be there, wrapped by the plant,"

"Likely," Kakashi nodded, "If Sasuke is not in immediate danger, go there and do what you can, Naruto, create as many clones as you can and have one go with her and begin to revive as many as it can from that end,"

"Hai!" Naruto responded as his hands already flicking through the seals as he created twenty or so clones, all immediately darting off to go and locate the other victims. Sakura too was on her feet and darting away, her pink hair quickly disappearing through the stand of trees and Kakashi felt as if he had let out the breath he'd been holding since awakening.

...

The last of the day had long faded and Kakashi supposed that it must have been almost two in the morning; they'd managed to awaked the better part of fifty shinobi between them, a varying mix of Konoha, Kaze and Kaminari shinobi, all of whom had been equally confused and then dismayed at finding their dreamworld utterly crushed as they were forced back to reality.

Apparently Otsutsuki had not been cruel in allowing her victims to linger in happiness in their dreams… or perhaps it was a cruelty beyond measure for when they awoke, they were returned to purgatory, locked out from regaining their dreams.

Kakashi knew he should check in with Sakura to get a full update on the medics, but Naruto had not long ago informed him that although they had not yet found Shizune, they had revived plenty of medics and they were helping to restore order to the tents and equipment. Kakashi, as deeply as he missed her, could not bring himself to face her, to see everything that he had lost.

"Kakashi?" Naruto's voice drew his attention as the boy appeared by his side,

"Hmm?"

"What were you dreaming about?"

"What?" Kakashi snapped his head around to face him,

"It's just… I can't really remember my dreams well, but I know it was about Hinata, but I feel like you were there, too, and Sakura…"

"How? In what way?" Kakashi asked, perhaps a bit too quickly,

"I dunno… I just feel like you guys were always together, like when I try to remember Sakura, you were nearby too," Naruto scrunched up in face as he tried to recall the rapidly fading dream, "But maybe it's just because we were still hanging out as Team 7 again,"

"Did you dream of Sasuke?"

"N… No, I didn't," The Uzumaki spoke in slow realisation,

"Me neither," Kakashi sighed, unsure what to do with the information, "Do you remember anything else?"

"Nah… not really, its all so fuzzy,"

"Okay, how's your chakra?"

"Okay, I can't get Kurama to wake up right now, but I'll try if you like,"

"No, we're under no immediate threat, its better that you get some rest at the moment; tell everyone else to get some rest, I'll keep watch,"

"Hai," Naruto quickly agreed and disappeared in a poof of smoke; Kakashi rose from his crouch to wander back over to the make shift camp, the night was dark, though lightened by the thousands of stars and big, bright full moon. As he stood on the prow of the small knoll, under the trees, his mind couldn't help but wonder at what a long path was ahead of him now. It had taken him months let go of the lingering anxiety and irascible emotions the war had brought out in him and that had been within the safety of Konoha. Much of that recovery still lingered within his mind, yet all of the support and familiarity that had been essential to his mental health was ripped away from him.

And the only person he wanted to talk to was far, far away from him - it was possible she had not dreamed of him at all, that all he was to her now, her once-sensei, was just an older man who'd always maintained his distance from her. Save those few hours at the climax of the war… unless he'd dreamed all of that as well.

Kakashi pushed up his headband to rub his hand over his eyes — momentarily noticing that he didn't have his sharingan — he sighed as he recalled an important fact he'd forgotten to establish earlier: exactly how much of their memories from the climax of the war were false.

* * *

Before Kakashi had realised it, nearly two weeks had passed, there were now a good number of shinobi revived, most of whom had been picked for their strength. Naruto and Kakashi had taken on various reconnaissance mission to find those they wanted most and discover exactly what else had happened in the world, apparently even civilians had been captured by the chakra plant, the lack of husbandry had meant that the towns and villages they passed had already been mostly reclaimed by nature. Now, though, they were having to being thinking about how to deal with Otsutsuki and other potential enemies who could well have already been alerted to the people already awakened. Kakashi had called a meeting between them all - he was pleased that the Sand three, various Kaminari shinobi and some of the best from Rock, Grass and even Rain.

Each of them as ready to fight as they had been at the start of the war.

He, Naruto and Sasuke had taken on the task of planning for a counter attack on Otsutsuki, Sakura busied herself between trying to figure out Sasuke's illness and analysing the branches of the chakra tree. He tried to stay away from her as much as possible, but he always seemed to find himself walking towards her more often than not. He ducked under the entry way into the tent, finding her almost buried beneath notes and equipment,

"Sakura?"

"Hmm? Kakashi?" She looked up with only the briefest movement of her head before her eyes swiftly returned to the desk in front of her, "We've had some luck, Shizune has been helping to catalogue all of the medical equipment and return it to a useable state and with her help in dealing with everyone else I think I'm making some headway in analysing this tree, it's really something," Kakashi couldn't help but smile as she rose from her bench and grabbed some papers; something in her movements was stilted, as if she was nervous. The Copy Nin couldn't shake the feeling that the reasons for their laboured communication wasn't entirely on Kakashi's end.

"What have you discovered?" This seemed to bring her back as she flashed him a smile he knew well and held up the papers so that he could see them as she stood next to him, as she hurriedly explained, her excitement palpable.

"The plant actually is a plant, but in the xylem and phloem  _chakra_ runs, sometimes infused in the water that also goes to nourish the tree, incredible, isn't it?" She offered, turning her head to meet his eyes as the excitement lit up her own, she carried on before he could have added anything (not that he tried, he'd always preferred to listen whenever Sakura was on a roll with her research or patients) "The people wrapped up in what look like bandages, are being nourished  _by_  the bandages, they're wet to keep the skin moist and allow enough to be ingest to prevent dehydration, the water is also full of glucose - I suppose it's just enough to keep the necessary cells working to keep the paiten- the person, rather, alive. Chakra is also infused within the bandages, but I don't quite understand how that all fits in or how it might help keep the person alive,"

"Why keep the person alive at all?" Kakashi asked as he looked over the notes in Sakura's hasty scrawl,

"What?"

"Why even bother to keep the people alive at all? Why not just kill them so the tree wouldn't have to nourish them and itself?" It had only really occurred to him now, though it seemed like a big thing for Sakura to miss, he eyed her crooked eyebrow,

"I'm… not sure… I haven't thought about it," She offered, her voice lilting as it often was whenever she was learning some new snippet of information or other.

Kakashi found himself frowning, irrationally offended at her apparent ignorance, it wasn't like at all,

"You can't afford to miss things like this, Sakura, they're too important and we're at a critical stage!" He didn't shout, but the aggression in his voice was unmistakable;

"Why are you getting angry with me? I've been doing as much as I can with what I've got available in a very short period of time!" She snapped back, "I can't just go and make wild accusations about what the tree is or what it 'wants' unless I gather all of the important information first, I thought you'd have understood that!" She was really angry now, she stomped away from him and threw the papers back down onto the bench, "I was only giving you an update, for Kami-sama's sake," She ran a hand through her hair as she turned her back to him for a moment. Kakashi breathed through his teeth and was gone, he teleported himself away to a nearby tree, his fist striking the bark before he could control himself. He split the bark and cursed himself.

Why was it all so  _difficult?_ Why couldn't they just talk as easily as they had done before? Couldn't the just pretend they were just teacher and student again? Eighteen and thirty-two? Of course not, that would be far too easy.

His attention was drawn by Naruto's shout,

"Hey! Hey! Sakura!" Kakashi moved enough to see what the fuss was about when he saw the Uzumaki carrying what looked to be like a limp Uchiha slung across his shoulders. This was certainly new. He continued to watch as Sakura appeared from beneath the tent entryway, an irritated frown still pinching her eyebrows though it quickly dissipated as soon as she saw her two old- _current_  teammates. How was it now, that every time Kakashi showed up, he made her miserable and just as soon, Sasuke would be there to take her mind off of it. What a twisted parody of all those years ago when Kakashi had to do the cheering for the messes Sasuke created.

Kakashi hesitated for a few moments as the three disappeared into the tent, he didn't really want to go back in there now, but he really had no option.

"Naruto? What was that shouting about?" Kakashi asked as he stepped over the threshold, seeing Sasuke laid out on a cot with Sakura looming over him. Shizune nearly crashed into Kakashi as she hurried past him,

"Sorry, Kakashi-sampai, Sakura, what's happening? Is he any worse?"

"Yes, but I haven't had much luck in understanding exactly what is wrong with him, let along creating a cure," He heard Sakura explain to Shizune and he left the medics to do the work.

"Naruto, what happened?"

"I dunno, I was talking with Gaara and he just collapsed, he's been really grouchy lately… though with Sasuke it's hard to tell, but he hasn't eaten anything for a day or two,"

"What?" Sakura snapped, apparently having heard, "Naruto I told you to  _watch_  him, to  _make sure he ate_ , idiot!"

Naruto scratched his head and grinned remorsefully, "Sorry, Sakura," It occurred to Kakashi how Naruto didn't bother with honourifics with her anymore, as he had always dutifully done; had his dreamworld taken him so much further in time than that which passed in the real world, too?

"Shizune, do we have any IVs intact?"

"Yes, I'm still going through everything that's been salvaged, but I think we can sort something out, I'll have some of the other medics prepare one and bring it here, I'll also get back to your earlier notes and start working on some analysis, please draw a blood sample for me,"

"Hai," Sakura stood up and rushed over to a nearby make-shift bookcase, "If you two don't mind I have a patient to treat; he's stable for now and I'll let you know when I find out more," She shot at them, as she pulled out a small syringe. Kakashi and Naruto shared a glance and left the tent, the younger was quick to leave, though Kakashi lingered for just a moment more, hearing Sakura sigh before apparently muttering to herself,

"Why is it you always have to show up and force yourself into the middle of everything, just so you can ruin things for everyone, Sasuke?"

..

.

_Edit: Sakura is 18 here, though I know it she's supposed to be 16-ish during the war, but I'm not cool with writing the dynamic (after what's happened in the Infinite Tsukikomi) to write this kind of relationship between Kaka and an underage Saku, even if I did, the story would still have to wait until Saku was a little older anyway, so I'm just kind of cutting off the corner here. Just an FYI ~_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hakujitsumu III**

Shikamaru sat leaning against a tree whilst his mind mulled over the options for how they would handle the Mother, doubtlessly, if she hadn't already been alerted that her Tsukikomi had been partially undone, she would be very soon. Apparently, all of those who were wrapped by the branches of the tree were ultimately turned into white Zetsu bodies… but there was no way of knowing how long that process would take, or at what point it would become reversible. Was Sakura aware of this information? Perhaps she could begin to look at countering the transformation, maybe some of the small animals who'd been captured were already beginning to be adapted? He sighed at the quiet world around him, although he appreciated a quiet day cloud-gazing, but this silence was utterly unnatural, disturbingly so and it interfered with his inner calm.

His eyes moved from the sky back to the overhanding branch above; its gnarled bark seeming to become more and more organised until it… blinked? Shikamaru sat up a little, his eyes beginning to discern a mouth and the outline of a head; the Nara rubbed his eyes quickly, wondering if his brain had just concocted something ridiculous to alleviate the monotony of his post-apocalyptic world, but it was still there when he looked again.

"Heya, how's it going?" The tree said,

"Wh-what the hell?" Shikamaru snapped back as the head leaned forward and the bark began to smooth, as if of its own accord, whilst the bark began to loose its colour,

"Why so glum, buddy?"

"Ze… Zetsu?" Shikamaru was on his feet in a flash, "What in the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, just to check up on you guys, I've been off keeping and eye on  _her_  since Sasuke awoke Kakashi and  _she_  is not happy, but the good news is that she doesn't know how many of you have been revived,"

"That… is good news… we need to find Kakashi—"

"No problem, I was already talking to him, too, buuutttt he's on his way here, now," The white Zetsu grinned just as he sensed the presence of Kakashi,

"Shikarmaru!"

"I know, I've just spoke to him," The Nara looked over to find him,

"Zetsu, how long has the Mother been aware of my awakening?"

"Uh… not for very long, though she wasn't overly concerned at first since there are so many people and animals under her control that she didn't seem very bothered, I guess it's due to how thinly her chakra is spread,"

"What do you mean?" Kakashi pressed,

"Well, the tree owns the chakra, and it absorbed it from her and redistributes it to everyone who's taken the chakra from it… I guess there's a bit of a time lag from when the chakra is disconnected to when she notices," Zetsu explained with a shrug, though both Shikamaru and Kakashi took the moment to analyse the information provided — if there was a time lag between Otsutsuki realising someone was free from the tree, then there was the distinct possibility of an advantage. Well, aside from the advantage they were already enjoying,

"Where is the mother now? What is she currently doing?" Kakashi asked,

"She's at the highest place on this continent, in the mountains of Cloud, most of her chakra and attention is going to keeping the tree alive and the jutsu aimed at the moon,"

"Why does she still need to do that? If everyone is already under the genjutsu - as far as she knows,"

"Hgn… I don't really understand how it all works, but I think she needs to keep the jutsu working as a means of keeping herself in possession of some charka — I think it's kinda some way to fool the plant into not absorbing all of her charka, so that she can still keep a percentage of the chakra," Zetsu explained with the manner of a child repeating what a parent had told it without really understanding the underlying concept. Kakashi and Shikamaru shared a look, a tacit moment of understanding passing between them - like anything else in the physical realm, there was a clear and obvious target for attack.

* * *

Ino sighed heavily as she sat on the low roof, the day was sunny and hot yet her mood had risen little above the height of a lethargic ground-fog; she watched the people milling around nearby, their voices coming through clearly though of such little interest to her they were almost bothersome. Until a familiar voice reached her ears and she turned her head slightly,

"What about tempura?"

"Kakashi!" Sakura's voice cut through the hum of others' conversations, with playful offence, "It's your turn to cook tonight and I'm not going to ask you to make something you  _hate_ ,"

"I could just make something else as well,"

"That's not fair," Sakura offered amiably; they finally came into Ino's view as they ambled down the street, close by each other, though not quite touching. Kakashi held a shopping bag in one hand, whilst Sakura held another, "What about barbecue? We have some beef and I have a small electric grill, if we go back to mine,"

"Ah, barbecue sounds good… do you have the sauces?"

"Yes! I was planning to make it for you next week, but we might as well eat it tonight," They were beginning to get out of Ino's view, though she jumped up and down to the ground, subtly following them, weaving through the crowds.

"Hmm, I'm sorry to miss that," His voice dropped a little, "But I guess we can advance next week's fun to this week,"

"Who says it was scheduled only for next week? It's not like it has to be rationed," Ino could hear to smirk in Sakura's voice and didn't miss how Kakashi momentarily moved slightly closer to her, his nearest hand to her rising slightly to rub his fingers over her inner wrist. It went no further though, for Kakashi seemed to remember they were in public and dropped his hand again.

They meandered on down a few more streets, Ino watching from atop another roof as a sudden movement caught her eye, she leaned over to get a better look at another Kakashi hovering from behind a chimney stack. He held still, observing the pair until they stepped around the corner of a high tented-stall. The kage-bunshin then whipped a camera from nowhere and brought it up to his eye to snap shot. Missions might have been at an all time low for Konoha, but Ino had to admit, this seemed like a ridiculous waste of charka… for the sake of a few photographs. Though the kuniochi vaguely recalled Sakura telling her about the extraordinary lengths he'd gone to in the past — usually surrounding the old trio's attempts to get a peek beneath Kakashi's mysterious mask — to divert and entertain them with his foils. No doubt Sakura was well aware of what he has hiding under there now,  _I wonder how many in Konoha know what he looks like?_ The kage-bunshin leapt over several more rooftops, crouching again to focus his camera and take another photograph, Ino saw as he looked at the screen of the camera and smiled, his eye creasing happily at the moment in time he captured. Ino would never have guessed Kakashi to even own a camera, let alone go to such clandestine lengths to get a picture of his girlfriend. They might be a normally private couple, but Kami-sama this was a new level entirely.

The couple slowed to a halt to along a small parade of shops as Kakashi nodded his head towards a supermarket, "Wait here for a moment, will you?"

"Sure," She reached out her hand to take the bag he was carrying, gratefully he handed it off and disappeared inside, Sakura turned around to look at the shop windows in the street opposite, where various shinobi attire was offered, one of which was an extended belt with additional attachments for pouches - good choice for a medic, Ino thought. Sakura was still distracted when Kakashi emerged from the shop, he saw the object of her gaze and looked around for his kage bunshin, who'd taken up temporary residence in a nearby tree as the real Kakashi wandered over and dropped a hand to Sakura's shoulder before they lazily continued on their wander. Ino saw that the kage bunshin reappeared and took itself into the shop, happily chatting with the clerk and pointing at the belt in the window.

The Yamanaka sighed again and left the couple to themselves, not feeling any better; she was in a relationship herself but what Kakashi and Sakura had between them - the playfulness and ease with which they settled their disagreement was lost on Sai. He was a good man and had eventually learned a passable grade of manners, but the concept of devilish or light-hearted interaction was lost on him. Ino had never been shy or felt ashamed of her desire to forge romantic relationships, yet now that the opportune moment seemed to be upon her, her love life was rather lacklustre. She jumped another rooftop and almost landed squarely on Shikamaru, who was lazing on a roof much as she was earlier,

"Oi, Ino, watch where you're going!" He grumbled, barely cracking open an eyelid,

"How are you, Shikamaru? I haven't seen you for a while,"

"Eh," He returned eliciting an irritated eye-roll from her, "…What are you up to?" He asked at length,

"Nothing really,"

"What's bothering you?" Her tone of voice said it all, apparently, "You're listless,"

"I just saw Kakashi and Sakura, I can't believe that old scarecrow is a better lover than anyone our age,"

"You don't know that, or maybe he's just had better practice,"

"Ugh," Ino muttered, still choosing to stubbornly believe that the older generation had no sex drive - it was far too much of a disturbing thought for her.

"Just sit back and watch the clouds for a while, it does wonders for your troubles," He issued before settling his head back again his folded arms once more. The Yamanaka now turned her head to the boy next to her, his words weren't entirely foreign, but they didn't sound right either - Shikamaru never  _suggested_ to anybody that they should watch clouds, he only ever mentioned that  _he_  watched clouds. Weird. Everything had been weird lately, like something was  _just not quite right_. But there was just so much Ino could attribute to being the cause that it could just as easily be her own mind conjuring problems for itself.

* * *

Sakura sat at the small desk opposite to Shizune, waiting for further analysis of the plant stem, whilst her eyes skimmed over the information they'd already gathered. Something was gnawingly familiar about all of the information so far present, but something was just not connecting right for her yet.

"Sakura, you said you thought that the charka was being transported in the phloem tubules, right?"

"Hai,"

"It doesn't look to be that way, actually, the chakra travels through the cell wall, crossing the through the plasmodesmata* to reach every cell,"

"Whoa," Sakura blinked, sitting up a little, "So very similarly to how the chakra flows to every cell in a human body?"

"Yes,"

"So does the chakra travel through the cell wall or through the cytoplasm?"

"Through the cytoplasm, potentially also helping to transfer the proteins and amino acids between cells a lot faster than conventional plants, which may explain how this plant is able to grow and recover so quickly," Shizune explained, taking her eye away from the microscope; whenever they had taken a sample of the plant or removed someone from its bindings, the tree had almost instantly healed itself - perhaps this was why they hadn't been attacked or discovered yet? If the tree healed almost instantaneously, it was possible that the Mother was unaware of the damage being done? It seemed like too much of an opening for them.

"So how could we possibly sever the chakra connections, in that case? Not only would it alert the mother if we managed to cut off one limb, but the tree would recover so quickly it would be meaningless,"

"I'll keep looking and testing, if only we had access to Hashirama's research notes on his wood-element—"

"Yamato-Taicho! Where is he?" Sakura suddenly cut across as she sprung to her feet remembering him, "Hadn't be seen captured? Is it because of him that they were able to grow this tree?"

Shizune stared intensely at Sakura for a moment, her own mind spinning through the available information, "Yes! I think we need to find him as a top priority, go and find Kakashi and tell him what we know so that we can being to organise a means to finding and rescuing Yamato,"

"R-right," Sakura replied,  _great, just what I needed!_  She exited the tent and leapt into the trees; the hardest thing she'd faced since waking up had been figuring out how to face Kakashi in the real world. They'd be close,  _so_  close in her dream but everything that had happened between them had seemed to take place over  _years_  so that it became utterly natural that they been so close. The way he'd looked at her as soon as Sasuke had woken her up as well - as if he knew: he knew what she dreamt of because he'd seen the same things.

That he too had dreamt of just how deeply they'd become involved with each other.

But… it couldn't have been true, could it? Nothing about that Tsukikomi was real and even if, by some miracle he had dreamt of their relationship in the same way, it  _hadn't really been Kakashi_. She'd dreamed only of  _her projection_  of him, her imagination created the Kakashi that she wanted, not the real-life man himself. Sakura bit her lip as the thought settled itself morosely in the forefront her mind as she dropped down from the trees and entered the small tent that the offensive ninja were using as a base. Naruto and Shikamaru were stood with their backs to her, initially though as her former teammate noticed and stepped aside to welcome her, she saw what the attraction was.

"You!" She snapped viciously, jabbing a finger towards the white Zetsu,

"Gyah! Don't hurt me, monster-woman!" Zetsu immediately curled into a ball in terror as he, too, recognised Sakura (her previous attack on him had apparently left quite an impression, Sakura thought somewhat smugly,  _serves him damn well right!_ ),

"Calm down, she won't hurt you," Kakashi cut across, eyeing passively the shaking form of white Zetsu and Sakura's venomous expression,

"Eh? Sakura, what did you do to him?"

"I caught him trying to infiltrate the medial corps tents during the war,"

"Way to go Sakura!" Naruto cheered, "This guy's really good at hiding,"

"But not very clever,"

"How was I supposed to know it was a stupid pig?" Zetsu grumbled, unfurling himself, apparently now confident he was in no immediate danger,

"Shut up… in fact, no," Sakura changed tack, her surprise at seeing her old opponent having momentarily derailed her initial intent, "I'd rather you told me where Yamato is,"

"Yamato?" Kakashi spoke, the surprise obvious on his face as it was everyone else's - apparently they'd forgotten about him, too, "He wasn't released?"  
"I'm not sure, but I think Zetsu is in the best position to give us that information,"

"Ya-Yamato?" The tentative ally narrowed his eyes in confusion,

"The Konoha shinobi grown from the cells of Hashirama,"

"Oh! That guy! I guess he's still at the centre of the battlefield, where I dropped him… not that far from here really,"

"That's quite a distance," Kakashi interjected, "Otsutsuki's location is well out of the way so that shouldn't be a problem for now; Shikamaru find out who is physically able to move over a long distance and organise a team to go there and rescue Yamato; Sakura, should be among them."

"Hai, Kakashi-san," The Nara nodded and left the tent, Kakashi turned to Naruto as Sakura returned her attention to Zetsu, trying to ignore her hyper awareness of her dream-lover stood right behind her, along with her simultaneous desire to be very far away from him. "Zetsu, in the meantime I would really like to take a sample of your tissue, since you were grown from Yamato's cells and analyse it in comparison to the cells we have taken from the chakra tree," She explained gently, eyeing as he bared his teeth and took upon a highly suspicious look upon his face, "It won't hurt you,"

"Hmm…"

"Zetsu, your cooperation in this matter would help us greatly, please do as Sakura asks," Kakashi deep voice wafted over her shoulder, almost making her jump in surprise,

"Ugh… all right, what do I need to do?"

"Come with me to the medic tents, though no funny stuff this time!"  
"Yea, yea," Zetsu grumbled.

"Shizune! Shizune, I've got white Zetsu with me, he was grown from Yamato's cells," Sakura hurried as she pulled aside the flap over the tent entryway,

"Of course! Bring him over here," Shizune span on her chair, reaching over to the makeshift shelves behind her, "Come and sit over here, Zetsu," He did as he was told, though effectively telegraphed his displeasure through his over-exaggerated slouch, he flopped into the seat, "The theatrics are enough, please hold out your arm," Shizune continued as she took hold of the sterilised razor blade,

"Wh-hey! You said it wouldn't hurt!" He clung to his arm as if his life depended on it,

"Don't be stupid, firstly you can simply  _regrow_  limbs and I this  _won't_ hurt, Shizune will simply take a scraping from the surface of your skin, it will just feel like scratching an itch," Sakura cut across,

"But I've… never had an itch…"

"Baka,"

"Just hold out your arm, please," Shizune interrupted, prompting Zetsu to comply; she took hold of his wrist and gently scraped the sharp edge of the blade perpendicular to his inner forearm, she lifted the blade carefully and tipped the small residue of skin cells onto a microscope slide. "That's it, you can take your arm back, now,"

"O-oh… well I still don't know what an itch feels like, but that definitely didn't hurt,"

"Okay, Zetsu, the next objective is Yamato, can you lead us to where he is being held? Or was being held last?"

"Yes, though I really hate being a dogsbody for all of you lot," He grumbled,

"I'm sure, but weren't you lonely with only Chatty over there to keep you company in this big wide world?" Sakura offered as she walked over to Sasuke,

"Hmm… well… sorta, it was boring," Zetsu conceded.

Sakura dropped her hand, glowing green with her medicinal chakra, to Sasuke's forehead, "He's not getting any better,"

"No, I'm not sure what we'll be able to do for him, realistically, I'm sorry, Sakura,"

"Hmm, well, it's not like he would have bothered to come for treatment, even if the village was still fully fit," She cooly responded, removing her hand.

"Hey… weren't you in love with that guy, or something?"

"Used to be," Sakura replied, curling her lip slightly at the memory that brought now only a sour taste to her mouth,

"What happened? Did you fall in love with someone else?"

"Yes—no, I just realised what a jerk-off he was… is," At her almost slip, Shizune raised an eyebrow, though let it slide as Sakura quickly changed the topic of conversation, "Shizune, did you find anything in his cells?"

"Oh, right," She turned quickly to her microscope and examined the sample, whilst Sakura made herself busy collecting up extra kunai, kibakufuda and medical supplies ready for the mission.

* * *

"Okay, Shikamaru, what do you have for me?" Kakashi began as he settled his stance, weighted on one foot with a hand on his hip,

"Honestly, I think a single five-man team will be best here, the orignal battlefield spans the entire area across approximately a six kilometre radius and that leaves the potential for a lot of searching. We don't know exactly where the Mother is right now nor what state of awareness she's in. We need to move as quietly as possible; Zetsu, hopefully, will be able to give us a better estimate as we get close."

"Agreed. Team recommendations?"

"You, Naruto, Shino, Sakura and Hinata." Shikamaru said, "I and a handful of others will keep on searching for useful allies, I'd like to find the Hachibi and as many Kages as we can, in particular."

"Yes, I agree with that, I'll see if Zetsu has any clones he can spare to help you, maybe if Sasuke is awake you can ask him if he remembers. I'll get the team ready and briefed, we'll leave at dawn tomorrow."

Everyday was getting longer and longer in this reality.

_A/n - This chat has been updated since it's first release!_

_FYI — Kakashi does NOT have a sharingan at this point._


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you think this chapter reads a little weirdly (or that the story starts to digress from what was originally hinted at) worry not - there was a 3yr hiatus between chapters 3 and 4!

**Hakujitsumu IV**

The base of the tree, when up close, was so unnaturally huge it seemed almost impossible for Sakura to wrap her brain around: on even the furthest branches, the tiny droplets that hung from their undersides looked normal, until she forced herself to remember that those droplets were, in fact, people. The sight of the old battlefield was strange: it had been such a large, flat open area with nothing that defined it — though they'd all been far too busy fighting a succession of powerful enemies she hadn't paid much attention at the time — but now it seemed such a wholly depressing resting place. The deep clouds, heavy with rain coupled with the unnatural silence gave Sakura an unnerving sense of foreboding. They'd made good time in getting back to the centre of the former battlefield and Zetsu, in an uncharacteristic fit of comprehensibility, had actually led them to a goldmine of useful people. Tsunade, the Raikage, a number of Hyuuga clan members, Gaara and — much to Shikamaru's delight — Chouji and Ino; though the tree's energy was stronger closer to its main stem, it reacted quickly to the threat of someone trying to wrest one of its victims from it. The moment it's wrappings were interfered with or the connecting stem was cut, it regrew, horrifyingly fast; the tree also apparently sensed the chakra of the raiding party and sent out tendrils and branches to capture the mutineers.

Eventually, they found Yamato, though he did not look at all like himself: had of his face and body was ashen, monotone and sticky, as he if he was slowly being transformed into another Zetsu. "We really need to hurry here, he is still alive but for how much longer I don't—" Sakura's words were bitten off as she leapt up to avoid a sneaking branch, "—know."

"Hinata, what does your byakugan tell you? Is it chakra that enables the tree to move?" Kakashi asked; the Hyuuga called the chakra to her eyes and looked carefully around, paying special attention to the six branches that were seemingly called to her by the act of her kneading chakra,

"No! It isn't! The only chakra I can see are those which belong to the captured shinobi, it's slowly being drawn out of them and fed into the tree but from there… it's… it's like it's purely being channeled or something, I don't know how to describe it… but further up at the tips of the branch, there isn't any discernible chakra…" She dodged a branch and called upon her needle-fine charka at her fingertips to slice through a branch, it in no way impeded the branch's movements beyond slicing off the tip, which regrew in seconds and resumed the attack. "There is some energy controlling this, but it isn't chakra… the chakra is all being fed up the main stem."

"Then how..?" Kakashi replied, busy fighting off his own cluster of seemingly sentient branches brimming with ill-intent… but apparently nothing else? "Everyone fall back, just until the branches stop, uh, detecting us!" Five hundred meters was all that separated them from their targets, they sat and recovered for a while whilst they thought up a plan.

"What the hell?" Naruto complained, "Why the hell can we be free and we don't have anything trying to recapture us just a few kilometres that way when over here the tree is going nuts?"

"I guess the closer we are to main stem, where the chakra fruit grows, the more the tree is responsive to chakra." Sakura offered, "But the problem is how to we free everyone? How can we get Yamato back before he's transformed completely if we can use our chakra?"

"Um… oh! Sage energy! Hang on," Naruto settled himself down and gathered the natural energy, the red pigment coming to his eyes quickly, "Let me try something," He got up and darted back over to Yamato, the branches swirled and moved as if they detected something, occasionally making strikes at Naruto but often missing or striking at a place where he had been seconds before. He sliced off the stem holding Yamato to the tree and slung him over his shoulder, wrappings and all, but the branches knew that one had been severed and now had a target to follow. Naruto struggled to dodge the branches with such a burden on his back, though Kakashi was kick to leap to his aide in fighting them whilst Naruto ran for the invisible border. Even as he reached them, however, the branches kept coming, unsaved by Kakashi's defence, the kept striving and reaching for the stolen chakra. "Sakura! Quick! Try and free him from those bandage things!" Naruto shouted as he dropped Yamato, allowing Sakura to catch him and turned back to hold off the branches; Sakura called upon her chakra scalpel and tore at the white wrappings, most had stuck fast to the changed portion of Yamato's flesh which revealed his own, she cut him free as quickly as she was able, though he was soon a bloody mess. Hinata helped her to throw the scraps as far from them as they could, back towards the centre of the tree. As soon as the last scrap had been discarded, and Kakashi and Naruto were back with the group, the branches ceased their attacks.

"Okay!" Naruto grinned, wiping the sweat from his face, "Now we just gotta get the others! We'll get Tsunade-baa-chan next!"

* * *

Sakura leaned back on her stool as far as she dared, doing her best to stretch out and relieve some of the tension her muscles had acquired after hours spent hunched over, starting at her research and Yamato alternately. If only she was better of for it. Yamato seemed neither Yamato nor Zetsu. Despite the damage that had been inflicted upon him whilst she removed the wrapping from him, it had healed back over with Zetsu's flesh. She'd taken samples from both 'sides' of his body and they were remarkably similar, as if Yamato was somehow made from Zetsu or the other way around; she had been wracking her brain trying to remember if she'd heard or read anything which might explain their connection. She sighed heavily and rubbed at her eyes, between the rescue and worrying that none of them had yet awoken and trying to figure out the tree, she felt as if she was permanently running on empty.

There appeared no obvious option that could potentially help save everyone: so long as the tree existed, it would strive to steal their chakra and the tree continued to exist because Otsutsuki fed it and sustained it. Though Sakura suspected that whilst it had everyone bound in its supple phloem layer, it might well have more than enough nutrients to sustain itself. If that was the case, then why did Otsutsuki need to remain? What could she possibly be doing as the last human alive? Sakura still had her chakra and it felt perfectly normal, everyone else seemed to have access to their chakra, but would it remain so? Sasuke had mentioned that they'd been under the Infinite Tsukikomi for around six months, if the tree could deplete their chakra through proximity then they should all be completely dry — clearly the tree had no ability to shut off the body's ability to generate chakra. Regardless of the legend, Sakura's chakra was her own. But that raised another point: if chakra was the basis for all ninjutsu, all a shinobi's strength, and the tree was a living mass of chakra, then how could they even begin to fight the tree? Or Otsutsuki for that matter? Though Naruto's sage energy had offered them a vital opening.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto's sudden entrance into her medical tent had her start,

"Naruto! Don't you ever knock?"

"Haha how I knock on a tent?" Naruto laughed, "But sorry to startle you… I was just checking in, how's it going?"

"Not great," She replied, sweeping a hand through her hair, it had grown long and thick (and was fantastically soft, she'd noticed, apparently the chakra tree doubled as a top-notch spa treatment along with the dreams of one's deepest desires… if one didn't mind the drawback of begin forcibly dragged back to cold reality). "How can we fight the living embodiment of chakra? You at least have the sage technique, but how can the rest of us be of any help? How can you fight her by yourself?"

After a moment of thought, Naruto replied, "With special chakra!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"When I had to get control of Kurama, Octo-dude showed me how to see inside myself, where I met my Mum!" He grinned at the memory, "She had special chakra, which could get Kurama under control, at least for a little while,"

"So… do you have any of her chakra? Does anyone else?" Sakura asked slowly, unclear as to how Naruto's words were going to help them,

"Um… I dunno, I just know that Kurama was a living mass of angry chakra — at least until we made friends — but none of my jutsu could hurt him until Mum's chakra held him captive… no well, actually it was hurting him, but I was in sage mode…"

Sakura sighed slowly, she knew Naruto was only trying to be helpful, but in his own, immutable style: he was not making things easier. "Sorry Sakura," He sheepishly offered, apparently aware of the issue, raising a hand to scratch his cheek,

"No, it's okay Naruto, anything could be helpful at this stage, I just don't know enough about chakra, about how to fight living masses of chakra about how to—"

"Eh? Sakura? Did you think of something?"

"Do you still have access to Kurama? Can you still feel his chakra? Is he still sealed within you?"

"Umm…" Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, he frowned slightly, as if unable to settle and took a seat, crossing his legs, rested his arms on his thighs joined his hands; Sakura remained quiet and let him concentrate. His breathing evened out and for a moment, Sakura felt as if he was no longer in the tent. A deep red pigment suddenly covered his eyes and he opened them, "Kurama's still there but I can't seem to wake him, I think the tree took a lot of chakra from him, he still needs to sleep a bit."

"Naruto… do you think any of the frogs of Myobouku might have survived? Free from the Tree's effects? Can you try and summon one?"

"Um, yeah, I'll try," He bit his thumb, called upon his energy and slammed his hand to the ground.

" _Kuchiyose no jutsu!"_

* * *

Shino had been staring at the great branch from which he had been wrested for some time; it  _looked_  like a normal tree, it  _smelled_  like a normal tree but it was  _not a normal tree_. He was itching to explore it, to understand it but the few bugs which had survived the ordeal of being caught in the Infinite Tsukikomi — the act of being captured had stolen a great portion of chakra of each person or creature whom it touched — and, as a consequence, had massacred a great many of his bug population. With his freedom brought back his chakra, and the presence of his chakra had stimulated the bugs back to their normal cycles and they had managed to regain a good number from their diminished population. He called upon his scouters, those with negligible chakra and released them with instructions to explore every inch of the tree that they were able. They could potentially be gone for several days and he would send out more swarms in due time to relay messages and reduce the time toll.

Shino missed his dream realm: there he had the same swarm that he'd nurtured for years, so intertwined they were that he had no need to whisper verbal commands to them; they knew him and he knew them. The breeding triage had become so stable, so connected that they could perform a partnered transformation technique to rival Kiba and Akamaru's. He'd found his peace in that version of Konoha; where before he felt he must hide to preserve the Aburame clan's mystique, he'd later realised that his comrades had a genuine desire to know him better and the parts of himself he revealed, were met with warmth and acceptance and only improved their teamwork. Konoha had been nothing but green leaves and strong boughs, it had its share of occasional thorns, but ever had the sun shone he was secure in his knowledge that his team and his village stood strong together.

He stared at what little he could see of the sky above, it looked as intensely blue as he'd always remembered and even the overhanging leaves and branches reminded him of Konoha in the summer; but there was an odd feeling about the woods. Aside from precious few insects, Shino had seen no signs of animal life: no tracks, no scat, no evidence of herbivorous consumption. The forest felt dead. To his instincts, to his bugs: dead. As if the trees were technically still alive, fuelled only the presence of the sun, but nothing more. The previous autumn's leaf litter was still fresh and crisp, despite the weather suggesting mis-summer, no birds flew between the trees nor called out to one another. All beings had chakra, it was as much a part of the body as blood or cells, but one those who trained and moulded it had a detectible signature. Was the tree powerful enough to detect and ensnare every living creature? So then, why hadn't it made any attempt to re-ensare those who've left it's clutches?

After a few moments of ruminating, Shino sent out a second small party of higher chakra bugs; they were to fly off, around the tree and investigate if the tree responded to chakra signatures extraneous to itself. He and the others that had been revived had so far encounter no problems, the tree seemed to make no attempt to recapture them, but was not a foregone conclusion that they had nothing left to be wary of. Given that the tree had made no direct attempt to recapture any individuals, it was possible that the tree made no decisions for itself — could the Otsutsuki still be directing it?

"Yo, Shino," Shikamaru appeared at his side,

"How's it going?"

"I've just sent out two swarms, one will investigate the tree without drawing any attention and another, which has a chakra signature to test if the tree responds."

"Good, that should give us some clues; Sakura and Shizune are still doing what they can but this tree is a big mystery… ahh, I hate having so much to think about right after I wake up." Shikamaru settled into the nook of the tree Shino was leaning against,

"It's been almost a week since you were awoken."

"Yeah, but I still feel like it was only half an hour ago, I still feel drowsy."

"Agreed." Shine replied, "Did you dream of being in Konoha?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I rem— I dreamt, one time, of an occasion where you were training with Kurenai-san's child, but she made a mistake and the kunai sliced through your ponytail… do you remember that?"

Shikamaru sat up, "I remember that! It was the same day that Hinata went into labour!"

"With Naruto's child? They had a boy and named him Iruka."

"Yes!" Shikamaru sprang to his feet, "I can't believe we didn't think of this before… if we had the same dream, then it's possible that we have all shared the same dream, we need to establish this… I've gotta find Kakashi. Thanks, Shino." Shikamaru darted away, leaving the unflustered Aburame still sat at the crook of the tree.

…

"Kakashi!"

"Hmm? Shikamaru? Are you ready to go? I sent Naruto to get Sakura they should have been here by now," Kakashi answered, he'd just been able to brief the two teams of nin,

"Kakashi, I need you to tell me something about what you dreamt, did Naruto have a child?"

"Huh? What?"

"I was just talking with Shino, he and I both dreamt similar events; tell me, did Naruto have a child? A son, named Iruka?"

"Yes… he did, with Hinata. But even if we all dreamt the same thing, what edge does it give us?" Kakashi responded, feeling like the conversation was going to trample over somethings he did not feel like discussing.

"But… if everyone is dreaming in the same 'universe', then anyone still under the Tsukikomi will be able to tell if things are different there, now that we've all woken up, are they still seeing us? Talking to us?" Shikamaru asked in a hurry — he wasn't sure  _how_  exactly the realisation was important but his gut was telling him it would  _become_  important. He racked his brain for who still had not been awoken but who he knew and knew him equally well in return. "Ino! Where's Sasuke?"

"Eh? Probably still in the medical tent,"

"I need to find him," Shikamaru sped off before Kakashi stop him — where they ever going on this mission? He sighed deeply and followed the other nin. If everyone  _did_  share the same dream reality, then others would have dreamt of he and Sakura… surely she would also have dreamt of them together… of their  _Misaki_.

"Shimuda-san, Kurroki-san, Darui-san, please spread through your respective shinobi and ascertain just how many of your dreams you shared or if you have any major inconsistencies." Kakashi explained, "We will meet later to corroborate our perspectives, the mission is on hold for now." Kakashi ordered,

"Wait, Hatake-san, what difference does it make if we all shared the same dream? Its just a fantasy, right?" Shimuda asked, raising a tan coloured eyebrow in disbelief,

"We need to gather all possible information, it's been weeks since I was awoken and we have made very little progress. Talk to your people and find out what you can."

As he hurried through the trees, back to the make-shift HQ, through the milling shinobi until he came upon the large tent where Sakura and Shizune were working, the thick canvas suddenly budged and exploded, revealing an enormous portion of Katsuyu.

* * *

"Yo! Long time no see, Naruto!" The tiny frog raised a hand in greeting as the smoke cleared,

"What? Who are you?"

"What d'ya mean 'who are yer?' I'm Fukukichi! Gamakichi's lil boy!"

"Eh? Gamakichi had a son? I had no idea!" Naruto cried, "Nice to meet you!" He offered a short wave, "I was trying to summon Gamakichi, where is he?"

"Pa's dead… how did you not know that?" The little frog looked offended,

"I'm sorry! But we've been in the Infinite Tsukikomi for months, I don't know anything that's going on."

"Excuse me," Sakura cut in, sensing the conversation was going no where, "But what is Myuboku like at the moment? Has it suffered any interference from the tree?"

"Eh? What tree? We have trees, what kind of paradise wouldn't have trees?" The frog angrily rebutted,

"Ah, she's means  _that_  tree," Naruto lifted the flap of the tent and pointed out to the colossal branch overhanding them, laden with entrapped people; the little frog hoped over until he could get a better view,

"Wh… what is that? That ain't like no tree I've ever seen!"

"It's a chakra tree, it entraps anyone and anything with a chakra signature… we've only just escaped," Sakura explained, annoyed the frog's apparent ignorance, but well aware allowing her frustration to show would probably scare the frog away and then they'd be left with no answers. "You haven't seen anything like it at Myuboku Mountain?"

"No… no I ain't…"

""Fukukichi, how many other frogs are at the mountain?"

"Loads… thought everything was normal."

"Um…" Naruto looked to Sakura, unclear what the next step should be, "Can you call Katsuyu? Maybe she might know more?"

"Of course!" Sakura remembered, she channeled her chakra and summoned the slug. Although she'd only intended to summon a small piece of the slug, it was not what happened. Simultaneously absorbing everyone into her body, so as to avoid injuring them, Katsuyu appeared, destroying the tent in the process.

"Katsuyu! Sakura! What's happening?" Shikamaru cried as he arrived on the scene,

"Hai, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the toad are safe." Katsuyu replied, slithering herself off the four,

"Ugh… Katsuyu! I meant to only summon a small version of you,"

"It has been a very long time since we've last spoke, Sakura, I was worried. I did not exect you to summon me inside a building."

"It's… it's okay, how are you? How is the Shikkotsu Forest? Have you had any invasion from the tree?" Sakura pointed as she spoke; Katsuyu looked carefully around for a few moments,

"No. I do not understand what this tree is?" A miniature version of herself peeled off from the main mass and sped (relatively speaking) towards the nearest trunk,

"Please be careful Katsuyu! The tree absorbs chakra but we are still quite ignorant of it's abilities."

"Hai!"

"Sakura, what's going on?" Shikamaru asked, still looking rather befuddled,

"I was taking to Naruto and we were wondering if any of the hidden realms had remained untouched by the chakra tree, Fukukichi thinks he hasn't seen this tree in Myuoboku Mountain."

"Interesting…"

"I can't believe I hadn't thought of this before, but Naruto is still able to gather sage energy, it has nothing to do with chakra… and it might be the key to defeating Otsutsuki and the tree, if it comes down to a fight."

"Sage energy?" Shikamaru asked,

"It the gathering of the natural energy, it's highly advanced techniques, but it makes sense to go in with this line of attack… it might give us an edge." Kakashi offered, momentarily catching Sakura's eye as he drew attention to himself; she quickly looked away.

"Katsuyu, what can you tell me about the Shikkotsu Forest, is everything normal there?"

"Yes, things have been very peaceful for the past few months, Katsuyu has been able to gather a great deal of natural energy without disturbance, the war cased immense disturbance to the natural balance and it concerned her greatly."

"Wait… Katsuyu can gather natural energy, too?"

"Of course, I am one of the three, the three original animals with the ability to access natural energy, this is what separates us from the Bijuu. As time went on we learned how to channel chakra, which gives us the ability to work in tandem with our human friends as well as perform several low level ninjutsu, but the basis of our power has always been the gathering of natural energy."

"So what about ninja dogs? Or ninja cats? Or ninja birds?" Naruto cut in before anyone else could,

"They are lower level animals, they rely entirely on chakra,"

"Wow it's so cool Team 7 each got one of the original natural animals!" Naruto grinned,

"Yes but it is not by accident, you each were apprenticed by one of the sannin and as such, you each have the ability to surpass them. Life is cyclical and you three are the just the next stage."

"But… Tsunade never trained to be a sage and as far as I know, neither did Orochimaru," Sakura replied, casting a glance to the barely awake Uchiha, sitting on his cot;

"No. Tsunade had no desire to become a sage and although you are right, Orochimaru never formally trained, he took many of the concepts and abilities to utilise in his research."

"He didn't but Kabuto learned the sage arts from the snake sage Ryuchidou," Sasuke finally interjected,

"Hmm," Sakura replied, faltering for a moment in where next to direct the conversation. "Keep analysing the tree, please Katsuyu, anything you find might help us."

"Hai,"

"Shikamaru, did you come over for a reason?"

"Huh? Oh yes, I was talking to Shino earlier and it turns out he and I dreamt of the same events and Kakashi I also dreamt of similar events; it's possible we all dreamed the same dream. Tell me something, do you remember what Naruto's son was called?"

"Uh, Iruka?"

"Hey, yeah! He was! Aw, I miss my son," Naruto lamented,

"What time was Naruto's inauguration?"

"Uh, it was late in the day, wasn't it? About three or something, it was delayed because of Hinata's morning sickness."

"I remember that too."

"That was also the day Ino broke her leg and four ribs in a training exercise,"

"What? I don't remember that," Shikamaru replied,

"I do," Shizune cut in, "But I don't remember Naruto's inauguration being during the day, I remember it being at night time, seven-ish,"

"What?" Kakashi finally butt in, "I remember it being first thing in the morning… and seeing the duty roster telling me she was out on a mission that day." They all stared at each other a for a few moments,

"What about a different day — I remember once we had a visit from Gaara, and there were heavy thunderstorms that week, there was a lot of flooding," Sakura said,

"Hai, I remember that," Shizune and Shikamaru both replied,

"Eh? I don't, I don't remember any floods, Gaara only came to Konoha twice and both times it was hot, we had watermelon." Naruto offered, looking at Kakashi who nodded his agreement.

"I remember Naruto's version, I don't remember Konoha ever flooding."

"Okay, let's go back to what we all do agree remembering: I remember that HInata and Naruto married and had a son, Iruka. I also remember Hinata being pregnant with your second child,"

"…" Naruto merely nodded his agreement of the memory, his face turning sullen with grief, "We wanted a girl, we were gonna call her Atsuko," Shizune took a step closer to Naruto and rubbed her hand over his back,

"I'm sorry Naruto; I remember that too, I remember giving Hinata her first check up,"

"I also remember TenTen was in a relationship,"

"Yeah with one of allied shinobi, Naoko, was it?" Sakura answered,

"That was her!" Shikamaru agreed, "You too, Sakura, you had a daughter, didn't you? Misaki?" Sakura tensed at the mention of the name, momentarily rendered speechless,

"Yeah! I remember! Misaki was so cute! Those great big green eyes and her always messy silver hair," Naruto snickered, "Like her dad," He looked squarely at Kakashi, who's eyes were glued to Sakura's. They stared blankly at each other for a few tense moments, both equally terrified of admitting what they remembered and uncovering a heartbreaking inconsistency.

Kakashi eventually opened his mouth to speak but someone else beat him to it,

"Kakashi-san! Shizune-san! Gaara-sama has awoken!" A yound Sand Chuunin had alerted them;

"I'll speak to him." Was all Kakashi said without sparing a glance behind him before he took off; Shizune paused to request a portion of Katsuyu accompany her, but too was gone in a moment, along with Naruto. An awkward silence pervaded as no one knew what to make of Kakashi's actions,

"I still have work to do," Sakura excused herself and went back to her tent, just managing to seal the doorway behind her before the two fat tears blurring her vision escaped and tracked two wet trails down her cheeks. She choked back a sob as it finally hit her: it didn't matter how clearly she remembered the warmth of Kakashi's arms, the purity in Misaki's giggles or the softness in Kakashi's eyes when he sat with his family. It didn't matter how much she wanted it back. It was gone, it had never even existed and with the realisation that Kakashi _… what?_ Remembered? Didn't remember? Either way, he apparently didn't want to give her an answer. Had he dreamt of her, only to wake up disgusted at the realisation? It seemed nothing on heaven or earth could bring back her husband or daughter. She could barely breathe through her crying as the point was finally driven home: the two people she loved most in her life would never be anything other than figments of her imagination.

..

.

_A/n - This chapter has been re-written!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might not like where I'm taking this story, but please have a bit of patience with me, I feel like I'm trying to learn how to write from scratch lol (that and its fun playing with a bunch of concepts that never got more than a mention in the manga, which I've been rereading recently, I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed some arcs! But not the end ~hisses~
> 
> Enjoy!

**Hakujitsumu V**

Sakura was enveloped in a pair of strong arms before she knew what was happening, "I'm sorry Sakura… I remember Miskai so clearly, I remember Kakashi so clearly, he loved you both so much…"

"H-Hinata?"

"I'm sorry, I overheard part of the discussion, I was coming to tell you about the Tree, but… it can wait." She said, Sakura tried to get her breathing under control and to stop crying but the tears seemingly had no end. Hinata let go of her and shuffled to take a seat beside her on the high branch.

"Our lives aren't set: you just know, now, how one eventuality will play out… maybe even this time, you will still end up with Kakashi-san. Maybe you won't. But you know what that eventuality is like, each of us now know more of our lives and ourselves than, by rights, we should ever have known. You have another chance to take a  _different_  path, to see where it goes. I am sorry that you had be ripped from what was such a happy time for you…" Hinata's voice was quiet but confident, the meekness that long been her defining feature was nowhere in sight. Sakura stared at her old friend for a long while,

"H-Hinata…"

The Hyuuga gently rubbed her back in a comforting gesture, "We have all lost something very precious to us in this change. But we cannot waste this time that has been returned to us by feeling nothing but regret; there is more to life. I am certain we will have our time to be happy again."

"Thank you. You're right… I suppose everything just feels so… _raw_."

"It will, but do not berate yourself. As skilled as you are in healing, do you patients still not have some pain to recover from, as well as their injuries?"

"Hai, hai," Sakura nodded; so unused to hearing Hinata with such confidence, she'd never before noticed the strict formality she used; "I've never heard you talk so much, Hinata,"

"I've been thinking a lot since I woke up. Naruto has been with me a lot as well, but he's eager to pick up where we left off,"

"And you're not?"

"Yes and no; I think there are many things to be learned from what has happened… I remember how confident and happy I was under the Tsukikomi but I still always looked to Naruto to give me confidence and security, just as I always had done… I don't want to always be that, I want to experience what being confident for yourself is like… I want to be seen as confident and strong because that is who  _I am_  not because it is what  _someone else_ made me."

"Being who you want because its what you want was a hard lesson for me to learn, too. But it is  _so_  worth it!" Sakura replied; the smiled warmly at each other, a tacit moment of understanding passing between them.

"It might seem fast, I suppose… but from where I'm sat, I've had years to think about it." Hinata replied, "And so have you. We have learned a lot and I think it's okay that we use that knowledge, it isn't disrespectful to those we've lost… but it  _would_  be disrespectful to believe that they have not learned either."

"You're right, Hinata… I guess my heart's still asleep." Sakura said, though Hinata only smiled in response.

"Sakura, Sakura!" Naruto suddenly appeared on the branch beside Sakura, a small slug on his shoulder, "Oh, hey Hinata!" He smiled brightly, "I... wait, were you crying? Are you okay? Was it Kakashi?" He fussed suddenly, concern replacing his former smile in a flash,

"It's okay, Naruto, really," Sakura offered, "What were you going to say?"

"I was just talking to Katsuyu and we think you should go and learn sage-arts."

"What?"

"Hai, although I cannot guarantee that you will be able to learn it, you are a highly skilled shinobi with excellent chakra-discipline, there is still a good chance for you."

"You should Sakura, just think what a combo we could do on that chakra-flower!"

"Heh… but don't you remember, Naruto? How we struggled to fight that Juubi, which transformed into the flower? Even with Kurama's chakra and Bee-san's and Hachibi's chakra and the Shinobi Alliance, we still really struggled… how can a handful normal shinobi and two sages hope to defeat anything?  _Assuming_  I'm even successful?" Sakura asked,

"Don't think we won't be training, too, Sakura," Shikamaru interrupted, "We might not have the strength in numbers that we had, but the situation is different; right now, she has no idea we're coming for her and we've had a taste of what sort of resistance the tree will put up, that gives us an upper hand."

"Yeah," She agreed, they leapt from the tree, "It is about time we started making some strides forwards, isn't it?" She leapt down from the tree, "Katsuyu, what will I need to do for this training?"

"I will summon you to the Shikkotsu Forest, there Mageruko-sama will teach you, you do not need to bring anything."

"What happens if I can't learn the techniques?"

"Don't think about it! Just have faith in yourself Sakura, if you spend too long doubting yourself then you will definitely fail." Naruto cut in, his expression ernest, "I did it, you can too!"

"Okay!" Sakura agreed, "No hesitating."

They returned to the medical tent where Shizune was talking with Kakashi,

"Kakashi! I'm going with Katsuyu to train in the sage arts." Sakura said,

"…Were you even going to discuss this with me?" There was an edge to his voice, but she ignored it,

"We don't have a lot of options right now and I think it is worth a shot," She replied, making sure to keep her voice calm,

Kakashi looked at her for a few long moments. "That is true. We have Shizune and Tsunade-sama, when she wakes up. Go, train hard." He said, Sakura nodded and walked over to the larger body of Katsuyu,

"Are you ready, Sakura? We should not waste time."

"Good luck, Sakura." Hinata offered,

"Yeah! Good luck! We'll definitely beat Otsutsuki after this!" Naruto grinned, along with nods of approval from Shikamaru and Shizune.

"Come back stronger." Kakashi added, drawing Sakura's attention just as she and the enormous slug disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Kakashi-san?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Why don't we move back to Konoha?" Hinata asked,

"Eh?"

"We don't have much to protect here and right now we're hardly in the best shape to fight, if it came to it,"

"She has a point, Kakashi, Konoha would be the best move." Sasuke added, he looked tired and still seemed unsteady on his feet, but had made it out of the medical tent,

"Kakashi! Tsunade-sama is awake!" Shizune cut off whatever Sasuke was intending to say next and called the senior shinobi away, leaving a disgruntled Sasuke alone with the Nara.

"Could you make the journey?" Shikamaru asked, earning a snide glare from the Uchiha, "Before you get angry, and whilst you're on your feet, I want to request your help with something, do you have enough chakra to summon your sharingan?"

* * *

_Nice, Chouji!_  Ino thought as she dodged out of the way of her teammate's earth-rattling jutsu, she kept her momentum as she dodged the trees and sped around to strike at her target, from the corner of her eye she could see Shikamaru's jutsu connect with the target's shadow seconds before Ino landed her strike. Kiba didn't stand a chance.

"Oww! Damnit since when do you do taijutsu, Ino?"

"Didn't see it coming, did you?" She smirked, her hand finding its way to her hip, "A ninja's still gotta evolve, you know, we can't afford to get too predicable," Kiba merely grumbled as he got to his feet,

"Yamanaka-san! Ibiki-san has requested your presence at the interrogation department!" Kuroichi, a young Intel initiate appeared on the tree behind her,

"Hai, I'll be right there," Ino replied, "Fun spar, guys, same time next week?"

"I'm getting Lee  _and_  TenTen to help us, next time!"

"By Shikamaru, Chouji," She waved a short goodbye to her former teammates and was gone; she hurried back to the office trying to put aside the fact something had bothered her about that spar. Something about it had just been Not Quite Right.

"Ibiki-sampai?"

"Ino, you're here, I'm sorry to interrupt your spar, but I think you'll forgive me." Ibiki smiled his dark, slow smile Ino had come to know well; ever since she'd first met Ibiki — as a child of five — he'd always both awed her and creeped her out, she felt as if he could see right through her and might know what was in her brain at any given moment. But when she began working in the Intel division, after she returned to Konoha, she began to understand just why he had been her father's closet friend. Ibiki was a master interrogator, he could prod and pull the secrets out of anyone, an art Ino had unconsciously tried to master ever since that day, and where most of her friends and teachers saw her as a gossiping, frivolous girl, she had been slowly mastering and honing her skills as an interrogator and intelligence operative. By the time Ino was seventeen, and fighting in  _that_  war, she knew almost everything there was to know about who she was fighting along side; five minute conversations with allies when they'd paused to eat or thirty seconds of chatter as they'd slipped into the woods, told Ino  _so_ much. The tone of voice, the eyes, the body language, syntax, emphasis…  _so much_.

Ibiki hadn't looked the least bit surprised when she'd approaching him and asked to join his division, rather he's smiled his slow smile and asked why it had taken her so long. Ibiki was a man of patience and honour and taught with exactly those values, he knew how and when to encourage and when to let her figure out her mistakes for herself. Eventually, he passed on some scrolls that had belonged to her father, saying that it made no sense that he keep them, giving his inability to perform the jutsu and that it made perfect sense for Ino to take up her father's mantel… if she so wished. With those scrolls, Ino found the variations of the Shintenshin, which could be adapted for any conceivable situation.

"We have recently discovered a young Chuunin skulking around Konoha, he claims to be from Hidden Waterfall village… but we found old records that stated he'd been captured for suspected treason before."

"In Konoha?" Ino asked as Ibiki hands over the file,

"Look at the date,"

"This is from twenty years ago, so what's the big deal?" She asked, looking at the supplied picture of a young boy, his straight white hair reached his chin before slowly getting longer around the back of his head, he had a haitai-ate around his neck and a large triangular scar over the left side of his forehead; he looked to only be about twelve or thirteen. Ibiki pulled up the blind in front of the window of the interrogation cell, the boy sat there looked identical to the picture. As if he had not aged a day.

"I assume we've eliminated the possibility of jutsus?"

"We have. I think you should interrogate him first;"

"Really? Just me?" Ibiki nodded, "Yes!" Ino grinned, she hurried over to the door, paused a moment and took a deep breath to compose herself before marching in and taking the seat opposite their detainee.

"So, Junjou, what exactly are you doing back in Konoha?" She asked, casually flicking through his file,

"Really?" The boy asked, looking Ino up and down very carefully, "This is the best Konoha has to offer? They send some girl in to talk to me? I'm almost sorry Inoichi died." Ino merely quirked an eyebrow before raising her gaze to finally meet his. Just as their eyes connected however, she was met, not with the enormous dark eyes on Junjou but rather, with two brutally red sharingan.

"Wh—what the fuck? Sasuke? What?" She spluttered,

"Calm down Ino, I'm only here to talk. You are trapped in the Infinite Tsukikomi, we actually lost the war, you and the rest of the world have been trapped under the genjutsu for six months. I have awoken Kakashi, Sakura, Shikamaru and many others from different villages. Shikamaru asked me to make contact with you without waking you up, can you tell me about your dream world? What are things like at the moment? Do you still dream of Shikamaru? Of Sakura? Of Kakashi?"

"I… I…" Ino could only open and close her mouth for a few minutes whilst she tried to wrap her mind around what Sasuke had just told her. She forced herself to calm down, "I think I need you to give me a bit of proof here… how I know this isn't just Junjou casting some genjutsu on me?"

"I can't. But Kakashi and the others all told me that they did not dream of me at all, I was never captured by the Tsukikomi."

He was right, Ino hadn't remember that Sasuke even ever existed until this moment, "That's true, I haven't thought about you at all."

"Tell me about what you see, in your daily life, I mean,"

"I still see Shikamaru and Kakashi and Sakura and all the others but… Shikamaru has been acting weirdly recently, like he's not  _really_  him…he says thing that Shika never says… and today, in the spar, his jutsu wasn't right."

"How?"

"The two shadows grew towards  _each other_  rather than Shika's growing towards the targets… that's not how the jutsu works."

"What about Sakura?"

"I don't—I haven't spoke to her in weeks, I see her around but we just don't talk…" Ino trailed off, suddenly realising just how weird that was.

"We're planning on waking up Chouji soon, but you will have to remain under a while longer, we'll need you to be our eyes in the Tsukikomi."

"Hey, wait, no get me out!"

"We will, but we still have to defeat Otsutsuki and the Chakra Tree — right now, you are our link to what's happening in here, how much the Tree or the Mother is aware of might be reflected in this dream-reality." Sasuke cooly replied, "Talk to everyone I've woken up, Kakashi, Sakura, Shizune, Tsunade, Shino, Hinata, Naruto to see if they all seem… 'weird'. Keep eyes on Chouji, we're going to wake him up soon, see if anything changes. I'll be back to talk soon." And with that, Ino realised she was looking at Junjou again; the seemingly young boy was staring back at her, wide eyed and if he was about to crack. Neither moved for a few minutes, Ino too busy trying to make sense of the information she had just been over loaded with and Junjou trying to figure out the scary, silent woman in front of him.

* * *

The smoke cleared and Sakura stared up at the gigantic forest around her, it brimmed with life and noise; she breathed in the prevasive scent of foliage and earth — a smell not unlike the forest surrounding Konoha in the height of summer. The rich scent was almost overwhelming, the hot humid air engulfed her, as if she were stood next to a hot spring. Katsuyu was nowhere in sight, she could see small shafts of light, just managing to find their way through the thickly grown canopy overhead. The trees and underbrush were gigantic, not unlike the semi-sentient tree of chakra her allies were fighting, what looked like a rhododendron grew beside her, though each one of its leaves were as big as a bed.

"Haruno Sakura… it has been a long time since I've had a pupil to teach… who was your master? What illustrious line brings you the right to train here?" A smooth, steady voice spoke, though Sakura could not find its source easily amid the busyness of the forest around her,

"I was apprentice to Senju Tsunade-sama, granddaughter to Senju Hashirama-sama," Sakura answered carefully, suddenly aware that it was not just the abruptness of the change in her surroundings that she was struggling to adapt to, it was that the entire forest itself seemed alive with some energy or other. If she didn't know better she would have thought it was chakra.

"Hmm… not bad… but if you want to train you have to pass the first test. I live in the centre of this forest — it is peaceful but the journey is hard. If you can reach me, I will train you."

"But, aren't you here now, talking to me?" Sakura asked, though she saw nothing move around her,

"Are you sure?" The voice spoke again, this time sounding from some distance away. Sakura took several steps forwards, clambering over an enormous fallen tree, but as she did so she felt her skin begin to prickle and itch as her skin turned to gooseflesh. She could almost feel her chakra respond by instinct, flowing out to her skin, strengthening the cells against the near undetectable pressure. The forest had a presence; as if it were the sentinel to some last bastion of life and hope, it might seem unaware but some unseen eyes were watching her and waiting for her to take some misstep.

The kuniochi walked slowly, conscious of not trampling small plants or animals and to make keeping her bearings a little easier; she hadn't the faintest idea where the 'centre' of this forest might be, nor how big it was, nor even, where she had been summoned relative to it. She stopped by one of the large trees and look up — it was high, so high she was almost squinting to see its lowest branches — but it might still give her a good vantage point. Already she felt exhausted but nonetheless gathered her chakra to her feet and began to climb; higher and higher until she was forced to bring her chakra to her hands and climb as if she were a monkey. It was a far cry from the first day she'd ever climbed a tree. After several hours she reached the first branches and stopped to rest, its crook was broad and slightly dipped, she settled into it, cursing herself for not gathering a few extra sets of rations and water before she'd left, naively believing that she'd be transported into some sort of slug-house and treated to a good meal before beginning. What an idiot.

She looked up, still not seeing any sky above through the countless leaves and plenty more tree to climb; if only she wasn't so tired.

"What are you doing?" A voice said, startling Sakura,

"What? Who are you?" She asked, tensing though refraining from drawing a kunai; in front of her crouched a small, long hard man who looked well into his eighties and dressed in traditional samurai garb. He only smiled and cocked his head, waiting for her to answer his question instead; his voice was not the same as the one who'd spoken earlier. "I… I'm trying to get to the top of this tree,"

"Why?"

"So I can see where the centre of this forest is,"

"Do you really think it will be that obvious?"

"Maybe not, but it should at least give me an idea of where I am and where the boundaries of this forest lie."

"Hmm—hmhm," The only man hummed a laugh, "At least you're smarter than the last one. What if you get to the top and all you see are tree as far as you can see?"

"Assuming that there are no landmarks or defining features, then I suppose I would have to assume that I am already in the centre of the forest... or very close to it,"

"Ah! Hahahah!" The only man belted a full belly laugh so hard he almost fell from the tree, "You are definitely smarter that the last one! He walked for days before he thought to climb a tree… and then he still kept walking, hahaha!"

"Who was the last one?"

"Hm? Oh… what was his name?" He thought hard for a few moments, "Eh, Katsuyu-chan, what was that last boy's name?"

"Hashirama-sama," The familiar striped form of Katsuyu crawled over the old man's shoulder,

"Hashirama-chan! That's right!"

"The Shoudai Hokage trained here?" Sakura asked,

"That's right, he's the only other one Mageruko has ever trained," The elderly man said, "C'mon let's go meet him,"

"But... I was told to find the centre of the forest,"

"Ah, you're close enough, that old bag like to make all sorts of odd challenges and bets, come on," The man gestured before spinning in a circle and turning himself in a large, spotted slug and began slithering down the trunk of the tree.

* * *

"How far are we from Konoha here?" Tsunade asked, swallowing the last bite of her meagre lunch,

"About two days' travel," Kakashi replied,

"That's not as far as I'd thought… we were fighting up on Kaminari territory, weren't we?"

"Yes, but that final fight with Kaguya took us miles from the battlefield, thought I don't remember how or why,"

"Hn," Tsunade grunted her response, "I don't remember much either… we'll leave in an hour, get everyone ready to move. Have Gaara and the Raikage brought here."

"Hai," Kakashi replied and darted away in a blur;

"Shizune," Tsunade turned to her old friend, "What's the situation with Sasuke?"

"He is gravely ill, it seems he acquired some sort of chest infection some time ago, at this late stage I'm not certain we can cure him, he probably only has a few weeks."

"Hmm, as soon as we're back in Konoha try and get the lab set up and do what you can for him. If he dies, Shizune," Tsunade voice lowered to barely a whisper, "Save his eyes."

"But why Konoha? We need to get back to Kumogakure!" Ao rebutted, a frown playing on his face,

"I understand why you feel that way," Kakashi calmly replied, "But Konoha is closest right now and is a good place for us to regroup and prepare for our battle against Otsutsuki, that is our current priority."

"I am inclined to agree with this decision," Gaara added, "It is tactically the best option, it doesn't make sense to divide what forces we have at this point."

"Hmm, I don't like it but I do agree… Ao prepare everyone. Let's go, Kazekage," The enormous ninja stood tall, maintaining intimidating eye contact with Ao as he spoke; clearly his leadership nor confidence had not taken any sort of a hit by being subjected to the genjutsu. The two Kages walked away from the milling group of random shinobi towards the medical tent were Tsunade was still based.

"Are we all in agreement?" Tsuande asked,

"Hai," Gaara replied, I am also happy to transport those remaining who haven't yet awoken,"

"Are you meeting any resistance from your people over this decision?"

"Some," Answered A, "But they will follow me."

"No." Answered Gaara.

"What about the shinobi who aren't affiliated to you?" Tsunade pressed,

"They will follow, what do they have to stay here for?" A said,

"I have instructed Temari to talk with them and ensure they are comfortable; most will follow, I am sure," Gaara answered, a thankful voice of reason in the moment, as much as Tsunade respected the Raikage, he could be an egotistical pain in the ass at times.

"Then let's move. I want us to be in Konoha before last light two days from now."

..

.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand we're all caught up! Hope you guys don't mind me getting all philosophical in this chapter :)

 

 

  

**Hakujitsumu VI**

Konoha was a fucking mess; tremendous branches hung over the village, twisting through the buildings with captured souls hanging from every available space. Other trees and plants had moved in quickly and the previously oft used walkways and paths between the buildings were littered with shrubs and saplings as the surrounding Forest of Fire had encroached as much as it was able. At some point some a fire had broken out and ravaged a good quarter of the village but some fortune or other had put out the blaze before it could burn the entire settlement to the ground. The village looked as if it had been lost for decades. Kakashi spent the first few hours offering up what accommodation was still habitable to all of the allied shinobi not native to Konoha; it was oddly surreal, opening the door to what had been some unsuspecting civilian's house, with beds still made, or crockery set out ready for a meal and offering the shinobi full access… despite the thick layer of dust freezing everything in time.

Most of the houses or apartments looked exactly the same, most with at least one smashed in window or door which the tree had broken searching for its victims, allowing dust and debris to blow in. Every one the same eerie picture of a house frozen in time for months, yet looked as if the owner might return at any moment. It was past midnight before he returned to his own apartment, having been empty at the time of the attack, it had remained untouched since the moment he'd last left it; it had been only some seven or eight months in reality, but under the Infinite Tsukikomi, he hadn't lived here in years. The dust wasn't so bad, he'd been away on previous missions for far longer but the small space was not his home. The scent didn't seem so familiar and the coldness to the air made him feel as if he were an ancient prisoner, released from decades of sentence, and thrust back a life he no longer remembered.

He walked through to his small bathroom and turned on the shower, he still had water at least, he turned the knob to hot and gave it a few minutes hoping against hope. He returned to his kitchenette and searched through his cupboards, he slowly recalled that he'd always kept a stash of dried noodles so he could eat at least something when he got home, no matter how long he'd been away. He set them out, filled his kettle and found a bowl and chopsticks; he retuned back to his bathroom and nearly shouted in joy as he found the water was hot, he stripped in seconds and relished the feel of the hot, pounding water. For the first time since he'd been awoken he felt the tension leave his back as he rested his hands on the wall opposite, leaning over slightly; he had no idea how long he stood there for, letting the water droplets beat the fatigue from his muscles. He felt beyond exhausted, his atrophied muscles struggling to recover from his enforced stillness for so long; Kakashi hadn't been so unfit since… well, ever. He resisted the fatigue gnawing at him, despite the sting the lights were starting to bring to his eyes, he reached for his bottle of shampoo and scrubbed his hair, surprised at just how much dirt he washed out and how much longer his hair had gotten.

Kakashi hadn't realised just how sorely he'd needed a wash but when he finally dragged himself out, he felt like a new man. He gratefully stepped into his light kimono — which he usually used for swanning around in lieu of being fully naked off the back of lengthy missions — and set about shaving off his full, bushy beard; he'd tried and failed to find a quiet spot where he could shave during the previous week, but the more shinobi who were revived, the more they all had the same idea about privacy. He stared at himself in the mirror for a few moments, unaccustomed to the sight of himself, especially with the underbrush of wiry, silver hair that stuck out from his chin. If the beard hadn't been enough, for the first time, he was able to look at himself and see two homochromatic eyes looking back, the only thing marring the symmetry of his face was now the deep running scar over his left eyelid and cheek. His life as a ninja had made him an adaptable man, he'd learned to respond to changes quickly and without fuss, but this was one change he hadn't ever really considered might happen: his life was a lie. He had years of memories that never happened, a child who never was, and a face he no longer recognised.

 

"Okay, so this is where we stand, we currently have around forty shinobi awake and capable of fighting, all of whom are from diverse backgrounds with a good range of jutsu. Haruno Sakura is away learning to master sage arts and Uchiha Sasuke is dying, we are doing his best to save his life but at this point we cannot guarantee anything. Killer Bee and Chouji have not awoken, though are free from the tree's influence and Ino still has not yet been revived from under the genjutsu, she is our link to what's happening inside the Tsukikomi. So far Yamato has not awoken either, but the transformation of his cells into Zetsu's has neither progressed further nor retreated, so far we are at a loss as to how to cure him." Tsuande began, sat behind her old desk, her office full of the ten or so most senior shinobi, briefing them on the state of affairs. Everyone looked a lot better for having had a full night's sleep in a bed,

"Haruno Sakura?" The Raikage boomed, "Who is that?"

"My former apprentice,"

"So why has she been sent?"

"She has a summoning contract with Katsuyu and has exceptional chakra control, I firmly believe she is the best choice." Tsunade answered.

"Hmm," The Raikage didn't sound very impressed,

"Sage arts? How will that help us?" Gaara asked,

"During the rescue mission to retrieve yourself, the Raikage, a handful of others, and yourself Tsunade-sama, we discovered that the tree tried to attack us and recapture everyone, but when Naruto used his sage-mode, the tree seemed unable to pinpoint him, hence the rescue operation was successful." Kakashi answered,

"Seemed unable to pinpoint him? Can you elaborate on that, Kakashi-san?" Ao asked,

"The branches were very accurate at pinpointing us, when we were within a quite specific area, approximately five hundred meters from the central trunk of the tree, it was difficult to fight them off as the tree would recover and regrow any parts that we cut off very quickly."

"But why weren't we being attacked at our camp?" The Raikage asked,

"I cannot answer that, we were surprised by the difference," Kakashi answered with a short shrug, "Sakura and Shizune had been doing a lot of research on the tree and Zetsu's cells, Shizune?"

"You guys really like talking about me, huh?" Zetsu himself merged out of the wooden beams in Tsunade's ceiling, the entire room was in up roar in seconds, most of the allied shinobi readying their chakra or throwing kunai,

"NO! No, wait!" Kakashi hurried, "He's been helping us! He's no threat!"

"What?" The Raikage growled,

"It's true! I was getting bored and lonely, I wanted people to talk to again so I decide to help Sasuke; how is that grumpy bastard?" Zetsu asked, the same silly grin on his face; Kakashi, in spite of the situation wanted to laugh at the Akatsuki's word choice, he wasn't exactly wrong. He stopped himself, however.

"He is still ill and getting worse, has there been any movement from Otsutsuki?" Kakashi asked,

"Nah, the Tree is still, too. I'm not really sure if she suspects anything, but the more people wake up, the more I think she  _will_  notice, but its hard to say what she'll do, she might just make the tree more responsive to chakra and make the whole thing to get as crazy as it did by the trunk, wherever you are." Zetsu explained… sort of.

"What the hell are you babbling about?" The Raikage snapped,

"He's saying that the Kaguya might not make any direct move against us herself, but rather she might just reactivate the Tree fully to recapture us in the genjutsu." Kakashi explained, "Zetsu, do you think there is any danger of her recasting the genjutsu? The way she did initially?" Zetsu squinted slightly, as if trying to think of the answer,

"Um… I dunno, I don't think so, it wouldn't really make sense, the Tree is active and it is capable of recapturing everyone's who's escaped," Kakashi doubted  _anyone_  in the room wholly believed Zetsu's reasoning,

"Regardless, I think we should act as if Otsutsuki's recasting the genjutsu is a distinct possibility," Tsunade said, "Did we all get caught at the same time?"

"It's hard to say, from what I remember Sasuke protected us using his Susanoo, but whether that actually happened or was a false memory it's difficult to verify," Kakashi answered,

"Maybe Sasuke can help us with this, is he awake?" Tsuande asked Shizune,

"Not at the moment, I gave him something to help him sleep and he was still under when I left to come here," She said,

"Is anyone watching him?"

"Hai, Naruto's clone is keeping an eye on him,"

"I guess I can tell you what I remember." Zetsu offered,

"Out with it, then," Tsunade said,

"Um, well Sasuke did deflect the initial casting of the Tsukikomi with his Susanoo, only Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were left unaffected, apart from me, Kaguya and Obito, of course."

"Then what happened? How were we captured by the Tree?" Kakashi asked,

"I guess you guys were fighting, you kept on disappearing into her dimensions but when you came back to ours, the Tree was ready and it grabbed you and Sakura very quickly, Sasuke and Naruto avoided it for a while, but Sasuke was able to block it with his Susanoo, Naruto tried to rescue you and Sakura and that was when he was captured."

"You mean, Sasuke let him be captured?" Kakashi asked, Zetsu merely shrugged,

"How did Sasuke then get away from Kaguya?" Tsunade asked, thought Zetsu didn't have an answer, he merely shrugged. The talk of that fight with Kaguya reminded Kakashi of something,

"Naruto, do you still have that mark on your palm? The sealing mark that Hagoromo gave you?"

"Huh?" Naruto lifted his hands, though nothing marred their surface beyond the natural folds of skin, "No. nothing."

"Are you sure you don't feel anything? Any power that might be dormant in you right now?" Kakashi pressed, "Where would the power have gone? Could the tree have absorbed it?"

"I… dunno… but I can't even access Kurama right now." Naruto replied.

"You know, there's something else I've been wondering," Shikamaru said, suddenly, drawing attention to himself at the stall in conversation, "At what point have we woken more people than are useful to us? Is it our present numbers? Should we try and wake up all the shinobi but leave the civilians? Considering the power of the Kaguya, are we, as shinobi, even any use in the fight against her?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't point that out, Shikamaru." Tsunade grumbled under her breath, though still just loudly enough for him to hear it.

 

* * *

 

"The true balance is not between a pair but a triplet; the three forces of a shinobi act like hinges giving you suppleness and power at the same time. Three hinges, three turns can give you as many four different roads to choose. The true power is getting the exact balance between your chakra, your physical energy and natural energy." Mageruko-sama had been speaking in riddles for days; he was a fairly diminutive slug, compared to Katsuyu at least, and had two tonal swirls of colours that ran in a spiral down the length of his body. If Naruto was here, he's probably say that the old-man slug looked like an ice-cream. Sakura still wasn't sure if she was actually at the centre of the forest, but it was a small clearing, bisected by fast flowing river of boiling water. Here, the leaf litter was deep and soft and the overhanding branches were enough to protect from the daily rains but still allowed in the daylight. It was only at the surface for perhaps a mile until it submerged again; Sakura could only assume that the river ran deep, perhaps close to a thermal vent.

Although Mageruko-sama spoke largely in a round-about way, it did make a sort of sense — things came down to a triad, rather than a binary, there was always more than two choices, more than two ways of looking at things, more than yes or no, more than 'right' or 'wrong'. There was always  _another_  way. Just as she'd always been taught that a shinobi had his ninjutsu, his chakra, or his taijutsu to choose from, was not the whole story. Whether her teachers had simply glossed over it or just been entirely ignorant of the fact she wasn't sure, but she  _had_ always been conscious of just how many of them, just how many ninja had pushed the idea of the binary, had sold themselves to it… had enslaved others because of it. Weak or Strong. Male or Female. Kekkei-Genkai or Nothing. Clever or Stupid. Shinobi or Civilian. Good or Bad. Sakura had always felt this was wrong in some pervasive, unarticulated way, something inside her had always screamed,  _why? How can a world as complicated as ours be boiled down to something so insultingly simple?_

"You are thinking too much, Sakura-chan. When your thoughts are calm, your chakra will be calm and when your chakra is calm, the waters beneath you will calm. Only then can you open yourself to natural energy." Mageruko-sama said. Sakura took a deep breath and tried to force the thoughts out of her head and focus only on her chakra, which was keeping her afloat and still on the surface of the torrenting water, the noise and turbulence of its flow seemed to stir her mind, it seemed to have some uncanny ability to draw out long forgotten memories and half-buried feelings.

Sitting still upon the water wasn't the problem, neither was controlling her chakra, but clearing her mind was immensely difficult and something Sakura had always struggled with; her naturally turbulent and strong emotions had consistently gotten her into trouble in her early days of being a ninja. Even when she was accepted under Tsunade's tutelage, the Sannin being rather hot-headed herself, hadn't helped as much as she'd hoped. During her days with Team 7, Kakashi's cool head had been too focused on Sasuke and Naruto to impart any emotion controlling wisdom upon her. But it was no use thinking of times past now. She opened her eyes to look at the flowing water in front of her and cleared her head. Her skin began to tingle and the water grew calmer.

 

"When people think of 'balance' they think of a binary, they think of two opposing ends in constant battle, they think of two opposing ends reaching an equality of power but how can anything be in balance without its most important element, the pivot point? It is the pivot point which gives the ability to reach balance. The pivot point give balance, it gives us peace. Chakra exists to fight, to exert violence. Fighting — violence — is a short cut, it removes understanding, communication and empathy from a conflict; violence exists because people do not want to reach an agreement, it is a means for one to exert their own ideals onto another without really changing anything. Prophecy is the violent man's argument when he has run out of energy to fight; to write a prophecy is to enslave all his descendants into dogma. Prophecy is to say 'why even bother fighting this? My ideals are the only true way, my enemies will always lose in the end'.

"Violence persists because people know that it works and they think it is a quick to difficult problems, why talk when you can force? If you force, no one will challenge you again… until the next generation comes along who did not see the fighting but heard of its power and so try it for themselves. I tried to teach this to Hashirama-chan and I think he saw the truth of it, but his life was already too marred by fighting, he wanted it to end it instantly and his creation of the villages was testament to this. I read that old frog's prophecy about the 'boy who would change everything'," Mageruko snorted, "But their prophecy still counted on a violent means of achieving peace, their idea of peace was using force to destroy their enemy, because they could see no other way. They did not, for even an instant, consider that violence might not be the  _means_  of creating a balance. If one force is strong enough to defeat another, how then has balance been achieved?

"This idea is everywhere in human culture, you espouse it at every opportunity but none of you live it. You were always the balance between Naruto and Sasuke but were kept away from them because your strength was not like theirs; you did not follow the violence that defined their lives: everyone looked to them as icons and incarnations of the eternal struggle, all the while forgetting that their opposing ideals and strengths were meaningless squabbles without a pivot with which to balance upon.

"It is the natural order of things to achieve balance, everything eventually settles itself into a state of perfect balance; the Tree is an upset to this balance, too much energy in one place goes against the order of things. The Tree will eventually break down and die, the Kaguya cannot hold on to her power forever, it will leave and dissipate and settle into everyone. High concentrations leak and change where low concentrations remain stable. This is the order of things. The violence humans bring constantly upset the natural way of entropy, they move and shift the power. Did you not notice the difference in Hashirama and Madara's powers compared to those of your teachers? Power thinly spread to everyone is the key to peace." Mageruko's voice was soft, almost monotonous as he spoke but in such a way that the sounds and images flowed into Sakura's mind, disturbing neither her concentration nor peace but enough that his words were met with no resistance.

The logic of his words needed no interpretation, no deciphering, the just were. Just as a sudden rain shower at the height of summer, or the pale warmth in the winter sun seemed odd to those unaccustomed, but the moment the pattern was understood it was all perfectly clear. For a moment she felt as if she were floating, with nothing pulling her in any direction nor exerting any force upon her body; she could feel the presence of every living thing near her — their breathing, their heartbeats, she could hear the breathing of the trees as they expelled oxygen from their leaves. She could hear their roots absorbing water. She could feel the pressure of Mageruko-sama's chakra, of Katsuyu's chakra and she could even feel the malevolent, jealous chakra of Otsutsuki. It was powerful and bold… but near it, beside it, just beneath it, was another chakra the chaotic churning of the Tree's chakra. It absorbed the chakra from each person but that same chakra eventually flowed back to them, the tree desired their chakra but it had no means of retaining it. It was a closed loop of a system: the chakra had no where go but to circulate.

Just as soon as she felt it, the spell was broken and Sakura almost fell into the boiling water, she managed, just in time to take the four hurried steps to get to shore before she collapsed, her arms and legs shaking with the exertion,

"Wh… what? Why… am I so tired? Just from meditating?"

"Hmm, hmm, you felt it, didn't you? Just for a moment! But your body isn't strong enough yet… now you know how to access it, it's time to train your body… all three must be in balance. We'll eat something, then we'll train."

 

* * *

 

"Kakashi, wait a moment," Tsunade said as everyone else was clearing out of her office, "Shizune, close the door behind you, will you?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," She bowed slightly and left the two alone in the office. Tsunade leant forwards to rest her elbows on her desk and rest her chin on her clasped hands, she fixed the seemingly relaxed Copy Nin with an even, but compassionate stare,

"It seems that we all dreamed of similar things, under the Infinite Tsukikomi." Tsunade began,  _Here we go…_  Kakashi thought, "And I know I distinctly remember my silver haired, green eyed god-daughter."

"H-hai." Kakashi stiffly replied, suddenly finding the join between her desk top and table lets to be unusually interesting.

"I take it you and Sakura dreamed the same?"

"I don't… know, I think so."

"You haven't spoken to her about it?"

"Not… directly. But a lot of others remember Misaki, too." Kakashi answered, finally raising his eyes back up to Tsunade's; she thought for a moment,

"Do you know what you want? It's not like things can go back  _exactly_  to how they were but… we dreamed of the things we did because some part of us wanted them that way, right?" She asked carefully, not missing the split-second clench of Kakashi's jaw.

"How can we be certain of that? If we all dreamed the same thing… how could  _we all,_ as one collective village have wanted the same events to have occurred? Why did they occur in exactly the way they did? Was one person the dreamer and we just all followed suit?" Kakashi asked, an unusual edge to his voice, as if all he wanted in that moment was for Tsunade to tell him he was either right or wrong. She was surprised at how off guard seeing the hitherto calm and confident man looking so unnerved caught her. She offered a half-shrug,

"I remember watching your relationship develop with Sakura and I remember being surprised at first, I never thought you'd each look at the other that way, but when I saw you together it seemed to make perfect sense to me; it made  _me_  happy seeing how happy you made each other… though I still lost the bet between you two, I really thought  _you'd_  make the first move!" Tsunade grumbled, "Frankly, I think the Tsukikomi merely set the stage for us and in giving us the ability to each interact with one another inside the genjutsu meant we acted just as we would otherwise have done had we not been under it. Everything was too complex, to convoluted, everyone still had their habits and idiosyncrasies, flaws and trademarks that they've always had… I don't see how it could possibly have been born from one person's imagination. Especially not if that one person had been dead for centuries." Kakashi let out a breath at her answer,

"Ahh," Though apparently it wasn't the crux of the issue for him.

"What? Do you suddenly feel different? About Sakura?"

"I… Sakura now is only eighteen…"

"She still has her memories of the Tsukikomi, I will speak to her when she gets back, but Sakura isn't a child, I don't think anyone views her that way. You shouldn't either and right now, you know her the best of all of us. Besides, she is still an adult by any definition." Kakashi cringed slightly at Tsunade's word choice: as if that made it sound any less inappropriate.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

"You need to talk with her, you and Sakura both need to sort things out between you and it isn't anyone else's business. But it's probably going to have to wait until after this threat is over… I know this isn't going to be easy, Kakashi, and I'm sorry things had to happen this way, but I'm going to need you, Sakura and Naruto to work closely when it comes to defeating Kaguya. You three best understand each others styles and capabilities… though it will be a little different if Sakura succeeds in her training."

"I agree, Tsunade-sama,"

"However," She added, her gaze hardening slightly, "If the opportunity presents itself and Sakura tries to talk to you about it,  _don't run away!_ The quicker you sort it out, the better." Kakashi stiffly nodded in return. "A shinobi seizes every opportunity."

He resisted the urge to verbalise his impulse response,  _do I look like I need the fucking rule book quoted?!_

_"_ But there is one other thing I wanted to discuss, you know about he situation with Sasuke, don't you?"

"Hai,"

"Shizune isn't expecting him to live much beyond the week." Tsunade said, "Although I am struggling to muster some real sympathy for him, given everything he's done in life, I have to say that his timing is rather poor."

"The lack of a sharingan in the fight against Kaguya will certainly not work in our favour, I'd been thinking the same thing." Kakashi replied, to which Tsunade gave him a pointed look,

"So how would you feel about regaining something else you've lost?"

 

* * *

 

Sakura had never been so grateful to crawl into the soft pile of leaves and laid down flat; she, Mageruko and various other forest creatures had been far crueller over the past two weeks to her than Kakashi or Tsunade ever had been. She'd never covered so many miles running nor lifted so many tree branches — without the use of her chakra — ever in her life. Everything ached night and morning and was expected to train upon those same aching muscles far before the sun rose than she'd wish on her worst enemy. Mageruko demanded perfection and had not been very impressed by the state of Sakura's physical fitness during their first session, though he begrudgingly accepted the excuse that she'd been sedentary, rendered immobile for the past six months against her will. Still, it felt so good to run again just for the sake of running, her body instantly responded to the physical exertion and she felt the endorphin rush almost immediately and she'd long forgotten the satisfaction she took from exercising her muscles to the point where her skin began to feel too tight. As much as her body protested, she kept on going; Sakura had never been one to shy away from a challenge and when she had a goal she desperately wanted, no amount of pain would stop her.

She rolled onto her back and looked up at the few stars she could make out between the branches above, groaning slightly at her protesting body. The ground was soft, the air was warm and the night still: now was a perfect time to settle her mind and call upon the natural energy. As much as she'd tried to practice in the evenings, she more often than not found herself falling asleep the moment she laid down.  _But not tonight!_  She promised herself, and kept her eyes focused on the gleaming stars, controlled her breathing and cleared her mind.

"Eh, Sakura-chan! Wake up already!"

"Huh?" Sakura was dragged from her state of unnaturally comfortable temporary death by Mageruko's harsh voice, "Wh—Fuck!" She swore as she sat up with a start to see the sunlight streaming in through the leaves,

"What's with you? You were like the dead ten seconds ago!"

"No… I just… it's nothing."  _So much for practice!_  She thought irritatedly, realising she must have fallen asleep the second she'd shallowed her breathing; she got to her feet and brushed the leaves from her clothes. She joined Itsusaki, in his human form, as he crouched by a small fire. She'd hadn't seen him since her first day in Shikkotsu.

"You were sleeping very deeply…"

"And I still feel tired; how are you, Itsusaki-sama?"

"Ah, good… just been wandering, seein' what's what. That tree always tried to encroach on this forest but it never stands a chance."

"Really? I didn't see any of its limbs when I first arrived," She answered, gratefully accepting the roasted insects from him — although initially balking at the idea, she'd found them to be surprisingly delicious.

"That's because Katsuyu went easy on you and plonked you only a few miles that way," He gestured lazily, "You'd a been easy pickings otherwise, given your state," Sakura could have defended herself, but she was now quite used to the jabs from the slugs; she chose instead to munch on her crickets.

"Ohayogozaimasu, Mageruko-sama," Sakura set aside her breakfast for a few moments as she greeted the elderly slug the moment she saw it,

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan. Sleep well?"

"Hai,"

"Good. The day is for training, the night is for sleeping; it's not good to push yourself too hard. We will work again on the meditations today."

"Hai." Sakura answered, unsure how to feel about  _just how closely_  Mageruko had apparently been watching her. "I have been thinking, Mageruko-sama… how exactly does natural energy tie into ninjutsu use, chakra use? I know what you've said about ninjutsu being for offence or defence, but… I am curious if or how it might impact my medical ninjutsu?"

"Medical what?" Mageruko gruffly answered, ravenously munching on his own roasted cricket,

"Bwahahah," Itsusaki laughed heartily, "Natural energy and chakra are two different things… I wouldn't give any thought to it, the natural energy you're learning to sense and control is the opposite to ninjutsu, ninjutsu cannot exist in opposition to this energy." Sakura thought for a moment,

"I don't think I understand…"

"Don't worry about that now. Go back to the water and clear your mind."

..

.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n I recently read an awesome Tumblr post by elenathehun on Hyuuga clan politics, which is partly the reason I decided to devote some time to Hinata as a character in this story! My thanks to they!
> 
> — If you're confused about timelines here, they've been back in Konoha for a little over 2 weeks, though some of the segments do jump back to their initial arrival.
> 
> — If any of you are familiar with my other story Storm Cloud, you're probably thinking I have a real thing for abandoned studies, discovering knowledge and forgotten family treasure! XD
> 
> — I've also been watching a lot of DS9 recently and dear god, could you image in we had holosuites? If we could create the Naruto world and -actually- interact with all these characters? If only! T.T

_I've always thought Gai could do with a bit more love from the fandom!_

**Hakujitsumu VII**

Tsunade stood over the bed where Yamato lay, the half of his face which was still his looked calm, bordering on serenity, as no creasing marred its surface and she did not like it. Seriously ill patients only looked this calm when they'd accepted their impending death. Tenzou had not earned this death, he had already lived a long, hard era and for a man who'd managed to retain such gentleness and an even temper, he more than deserved a longer era of peace and happiness before his death. The right side of Yamato, that was not Yamato, looked a good deal more stressed and glistened with the thin sheen of moisture the flesh seemed to exude; it was not sweat. Tsuande called upon her chakra and held a hand to his right cheek, it certainly  _felt_  like Yamato's body and chakra, she could feel the chakra pathways that connected the cells together… though they certainly seemed odd, there appeared to be an odd clustering of them around his cheekbone before they opened to circle the occipital bone. She placed her other hand on the opposite side of his face and felt exactly the same cluster — though on his normal side, the pathways were far more logical in their manner. Instead of twisting back on themselves and creating a pinch point, as they did on the right side, the pathways on his left appeared to follow the natural line of his face, following the cheek upwards to the bone before flowing along it and up around the eye. On the right side, however, the pathway looked as if it wished to still curve upwards and to the right, but was forced back on itself by the left-curvature of the cheek… as if someone had, somehow, merely  _copied_  the flow of the pathway from his left side and implanted it into the right.

Tsunade repeated her inspection at intervals down the length of his body and found the same thing: the chakra pathways all appeared to have been duplicated from his left side and then replicated into the right. At the join between the two 'sides' of him, there appeared to be an impasse: the human side of him could not fix what had been changed and the inhuman part of him could not infect him any further.  _But was it an infection?_  Tsunade wondered as she searched the cells for any indication that they were fighting. No. In fact, the more Tsunade thought about it, the more that the white portion of Yamato read  _as Yamato._  As he was normally. Aside from the chakra pathways, the only thing telling her that there was something wrong with him were her eyes. She walked over to the bench in the corner of the room and picked up several vials, she returned to her patient and took skin scrapings from both sides of him, as far from the join as she was able to avoid contamination, she set the two into her lab-coat pocket. She then picked up a scalpel and made a small incision in his right arm; nothing happened to the wound for a good few minutes until eventually it welled with thick white ooze. She took a sample of it. Labelling the vials and returned them to her pocket. She turned back to heal the small wound, only find that it was gone. Frowning slightly at it, she pulled the cover back up to Yamato's chin and left the room.

"Sasuke? Are you awake?" Shizune asked as she held a hand to the last Uchiha's forehead,

"Hn,"

"I'll take that as a yes; how are you feeling?"

"Hn."

"Tsuande-sama wants to ask you some questions, do you feel up to it?"

"Hn." Shizune sighed and pulled her hand away,

"You'd better give me something better than 'hn', Sasuke, this is serious. How did you escape the Otsutsuki after she'd captured Naruto?" Tsunade ordered, already irritated with the contrite patient.

"The tree got… Kakashi and Sakura… Naruto tried to help like an idiot and got caught… I used the opportunity to escape."

"I gathered that," Tsunade answered, looking carefully at Sasuke who was slowly pulling himself to a sitting position, his eyes remained closed and body language suggested the fact that he must feel awful. Sasuke had never looked so terrible. "I'm asking  _how_  you escaped."

"My rinnegan, whilst she was occupied capturing Naruto, I used the… Ashura path… I think… after I got away, I waited and she didn't chase. The tree around me didn't react to my chakra." Sasuke explained, rather haltingly. Tsuande resisted the urge to sigh, Sasuke had never been the most forthcoming of individuals and he certainly had the ability to rival Naruto in his inability to clearly articulate himself but he was starting to take the piss.

"Sasuke, that is not a good enough explanation." Tsunade replied, "Do you have any idea why she didn't chase you?"

"No. She just didn't." Sasuke replied blandly, as Tsuande mustered every inch of her self control to resist punching his smug face into the back of his head.

"Come with me."

"Why?"

"It's time for you to talk to Ino again. She's just down the hall."

"I'm too tired, now." Sasuke replied, lying back down again,

"Well you'll be dead later, so you'd better hop to it now and I might let you have a painless death."

"That's the best threat you can come up with?" Sasuke shot back, not moving in the slightest; Tsunade crossed the room in less than a second and grabbed him by his collar, lifted him clean off the bed and slammed him onto his feet, not once loosening her grip. "Ugh, ah… what—?" He struggled for a few minutes, his sharingan flashing into his eyes, though before he cast any sort of genjutsu upon his Hokage, his nausea caught up to him and he was forced to croon his neck around Tsunade's hand and vomited all over the floor. "Ugh," He groaned pathetically, "Let me go,"

Tsunade smirked, "Who'd have thought a little vomit would be enough to stop the last Uchiha? Maybe all I needed to do, back then, was feed you a large glass of saline water and saved your teammates untold trouble. Come on." She marched out of the door and down the hall, still dragging Sasuke who only attempted to take every third step or so. Eventually they made it out onto the roof space of the hospital, above which an enormous tree branch loomed and Ino was still attached. They'd managed to move the Yamanaka at intervals and the tree was quick to reattach to her wrappings. She was now at the top of the hospital and, depending upon what Sasuke had to report back, Tsunade was hoping to free her before too much longer.

* * *

It had been several months since Sasuke had suddenly appeared and thrown Ino's entire perception of reality into disarray; she's spent several days thinking about what he'd said and tried to analyse her memories. His body language, his tone of voice, his words his eye movements. Although she was forced to admit that she really didn't know Sasuke all that well, she did know he'd always had more than enough ego in him to believe he was always above everyone — and that the only true power was physical might. Egoists never have much time for subtle games of deception. The only thing about the whole situation that prevented her from dismissing him entirely was the fact that she hadn't thought about Sasuke at all until he appeared in front of her. Neither had she heard anyone else mention his name nor the name 'Uchiha' — and given the part he played in defeating the Kaguya, it was certainly an odd thing. Even more odd that Ino hadn't even  _considered_ it until the man himself appeared. Some intelligence operative she was. If Sasuke's appearance hadn't been enough, she'd suffered strange bouts of blankness; as if she'd fainted but woke up in exactly the same spot she'd dropped and to the same time of day. She never found any bruises or bodily injuries and no one else seemed to notice that she dropped into a dead faint — be in the middle of the street or whilst she was talking to Ibiki.

After talking with Sasuke — and a sleepless night — Ino decided that she needed some further proof and went in search of Sakura; if she had indeed been 'woken up', then she should be acting differently than normal. Just like Shikamaru had been. She tracked down her friend and found her walking idly home with a shopping bag in her hand.

"Hey, Sakura! How've you been? We haven't spoken for ages,"

"Oh, hi Ino." Sakura smiled,

"Want to get some lunch?"

"No, I agreed to eat with Kakashi."

"No problem," Ino replied, falling into step beside her old friend as they walked down the street, "I've been meaning to ask you something,"

"Oh?"

"Have you heard from Sasuke, recently?"

"Who?"

"Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke." Ino clarified, looking at Sakura carefully,

"Oh, him. No, not really, why?" Sakura asked, seemingly oblivious to the trap; Ino nodded a few times,

"Oh I was just trying to remember how long you guys dated for, a few months, wasn't it?" Ino lied,

"Yeah, something like that, I barely remember those days, now, it all seems so long ago." Sakura replied, with an easy, unthinking smile on her face and a casual shrug of her shoulders,

"Yeah… it does. I've gotta go, but we'll catch up soon, okay?"

"Okay, bye!" Sakura offered as Ino leapt up onto the nearest roof and sank into a crouch on its far side, out of line of sight of the street; not that she thought the parody of Sakura down there would notice. Haruno Sakura would never have forgotten Sasuke. For as much as she loved him as a child to as much as she learned to hate him as a teenager, Sasuke was, for all the wrong reasons, one of the most formative people in her best friend's life. Sasuke had been the singular person who taught Sakura how to see herself, how to see that she was worth more than the neglect of a man who hated her… and Ino knew that Sakura was not so stupid as to ever let herself forget such a vital lesson, or what taught it to her. Whatever that thing was down there, prancing about in Sakura's uniform, wearing her face and occupying her name, was  _not_  Haruno Sakura.

Ino's next stop was Kakashi, he'd just gotten back from a mission — Ino had seen him walking into the administration building just before she'd found Sakura — she darted over the rooftops and was in luck: she spied his silver quiff through the crowd. She leapt off the eve and landed a few paces ahead of him,

"I'm sorry to bother you, Kakashi-sensei, I know you've just got back, but we're preparing an intel briefing and I need to clarify something with you,"

"Oh?" Kakashi said, appearing to perk up slightly,

"Do you remember, several years ago, when Asuma-sensei was killed? It was those two Akatsuki members, their names were Kisame and Nagato, right?"

"Ahh… I haven't thought about that in a long time."

"But their names were Nagato and Kisame?"

"I think so… Why are you asking me? Can't you check the records?"

"Of course," Ino said, Kakashi smiled, pulled his copy of  _Icha Icha_  from his pocket and walked past her, she turned slowly to watching him walk casually away, easily slipping past the milling civilians.

"That was not Kakashi."

"Eh?" Ino turned at the sudden voice over her shoulder, finding Maito Gai,

"Kakashi is an elite genius — he always knew more about the Akatsuki than any of us, there is no way he would mistake their names — especially not the names of those who'd murdered one of his dear friends." Gai's face was as stern as his voice,

"You've noticed it, too?" Ino asked softly, "What were the names of those Akatsuki?"

"Hidan and Kakuzu, of course… I would have liked to have been on that mission to avenge Asuma," Gai answered darkly, "I don't like this, I think I should speak to Tsuande-sama,"

"Gai, wait! I think I can tell you what's going on… come with me." Ino again hopped onto the nearest roof, this one having been adapted into a useful space, with benches, an awning and a number of plants; Gai landed before she did.

"Please explain," Gai began, his arms folded over his chest,

"Before I do… can you just answer one thing for me, please? What's the last thing you remember hearing about Uchiha Sasuke?" Ino asked, carefully watching as Gai's stern expression frozen, before it slowly morphed into one of deep, though unsuccessful, recollection: his lower lip pushing into his upper and his eyes slowly rising and slanting to the right, almost disappearing under his vigorous eyebrows;

"I suppose that would be back during the war."

"Me too, I hadn't thought about him  _at all_  until recently. It seems no one has… doesn't that seem odd to you?"

"Hmmm… yes… but why did you suddenly think of him?"

"Sasuke came to see me."

"Eh?"

"I was conducting an interrogation, just as I sat down to begin questioning him, I looked up and there sat Sasuke."

"You sure it wasn't him you were supposed to be interrogating?"

Ino shot him a look, "Uchiha Sasuke wanders back into the village and submits to an interrogation and you think the entire village wouldn't have been talking about it? At least give me  _some_  credit, Gai."

"My apologies, you have a point. What did he say?"

"That we are all trapped under the Infinite Tsukikomi."

"WHAT?" Gai shouted, reflexively squatting into his panic-stance as his fists balled, "How? Why? When did we..?"

"I don't know, I clearly remember winning the war, I remember hearing about how Sasuke and Naruto had sealed Otsutsuki… so where we were captured and what  _actually_  happened, I can't tell you." Ino answered, trying to hide her concern over Gai's reaction; his words seem to reassure him and he remembered himself, again standing upright,  
"How can we be certain of this?"

"You saw Kakashi just now… I've been noticing something has been off with Shikamaru for a few weeks and I spoke to Sakura earlier, she got key points of her own life wrong, as well. Sasuke told me that they've woken up several Leaf shinobi, Tsunade-sama, Sakura, Kakashi-san, Shikamaru, Shizune-sampai and they're planning on waking up Chouji soon."

"Then we should watch Chouji to see any changes in him."

"Exactly what I was thinking… do you like barbecue, Gai?"

"No. Whilst a delicious treat, it… err… doesn't well agree with me. We should invite Chouji to train with us… perhaps once a week should be good intervals so I can get used to Chouji's personality and style. We don't know if the change when someone is awoken is sudden or slow."

"That is a good point. Chouji's out on a mission right now, he went last night but he told me he's supposed be only gone for a week."

"Okay! When he gets back, I'll find him and tell him I want to train with him, he's sure to agree!" Gai offered his signature grin and a thumbs up,

"Um, well just in case he's unsure, I'll tell him we're training together and that I want him to join too,"

"Okay!"

Just as they'd agreed, they trained with Chouji; although he'd been rather reluctant initially, after a single session training with Gai, Chouji had immediately warmed to him and happily agreed to the regular training sessions. Ino was right with him — Gai was a very different instructor from what Asuma had been; though she still sorely missed her former sensei, even from the first day, Ino knew she would never form as close a relationship with him as the boys would. Asuma usually kept a slight but significant distance from her, as if she were some strange creature he would happily teach and protect but would never fully understand and so made no genuine effort to do so. Sakura had said the same of Kakashi and they both quietly accepted that that would be their fate as kuniochi under male instructors. Ino had never spoken much to TenTen, so what Gai had been like towards her, she never heard. But Gai was markedly different, even from the first training session, he observed them spar, initially, and had given them both immensely useful tips — from their stances, to how to increase seal speed, to how to more effectively hold a kunai, Ino hadn't learned so much about her own fighting style in a single day since the academy.

Gai had an exceptionally keen eye, despite his outwardly brash and occasionally idiotic seeming personality often overshadowing it, he was clearly a man of great experience and insight. He spoke directly but without ego or belittlement, it was blindingly obvious that his only intention was to help his comrades improve: he spoke no differently to Chouji as he did to herself and she felt no gulf in understanding between them. Gai had no comments about her emotions, he didn't pull back when she got angry and had only heartfelt words of encouragement when her confidence faltered; a far cry from many of the men she'd worked with over the years. And improve they did, Ino enjoyed training with Gai so much she's almost completely forgotten that they were supposed to be watching Chouji (she'd also been stunned to realise just how much she enjoyed Taijutsu under Gai's enthusiastic attitude). At least, until one day Chouji arrived to train and the difference in him was instantly recognisable. Ino and Gai had shared a dark look but trained as normal. Afterwards, they talked for a long time about what they should do and, in want of a better idea, they'd agreed to wait until Sasuke returned.

It had been the better part of five months until Ino saw him again and, to their fortune, it happened to be whilst Ino was sparring Gai. Just as she was preparing to dodge Gai's attack, she looked up at him to find Sasuke leaping in front of her,

"Hello, Ino."

"You're back, finally."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been nearly half a year! I was starting to think you were just back on your bullshit."

"Interesting, it's only been a week in my time." Sasuke replied, not sounding half as curious as his words would have suggested; Ino raised an eyebrow but waiting for him to continue. "We're back in Konoha, now."

"Am I back in Konoha? Was I before?"

"No, we moved you."

"I guess that explains the blackouts,"

"Blackouts?"

"I kept on… fainting, I guess, but no one else noticed."

"Why would they have? We didn't move anyone else who was still under."

"I meant no one else noticed  _me fainting_." Ino replied, though Sasuke merely stared back at her as if she was trying to explain was so out of the realm of his experience he couldn't begin to fathom her meaning. "What's happening in Konoha, right now?"

"I don't know, I've been in the hospital. But I know they are planning to attack the Otsutsuki soon,"

"And that will free us?" Ino pushed,

"Not sure."

"Why are you in hospital?"

"I'm ill."

Ino rolled her eyes in frustration, "Thanks so much for the clarification, idiot, obviously you're ill. Ill with  _what_?"

"Some sort of infection, Tsuande doesn't think I'll get better." Sasuke replied, Ino bit her tongue to prevent issuing the ' _good'_  she so desperately wanted to.

* * *

Kakashi closed the door his apartment behind him, slipped off his sandals, flack jacket and haitai-ate, plonked his butt on his bed and wondered just exactly what he should give his first thought to. The fact he may well be ordered to accept one of Sasuke's sharingan after his death — and whether or not he was okay with such an eventuality — or just what he was feeling towards Sakura and how he would articulate it to her. Not to mention what her response might be. Both felt like heavy weights that had settled themselves on his shoulders and clearly had no intention of leaving until forced… whether he'd made a decision or not. The worst he could do would to be unprepared, to be caught off guard by the turn of events and be swept along by them before he even knew what was happening. He'd successfully put off thinking too hard about it by spending his days training, trying to regain what he could of his atrophied fitness but it failed to inspire him as previously it had. He'd been fighting the gnawing sense of hopelessness ever since he'd been awoken: he'd already put the hard work in to recover from the toll of the war. He'd already recovered from the fighting and continued his training, with reaching new heights of his abilities. He'd stepped across the tricky and sometimes dangerous barriers of creating a deeper relationship with Sakura. He's become a husband, a father. And in a heartbeat it had been ripped away and here he was, sat on his ass, physically weaker than he'd ever been in his life and with none of the people he felt closest too around him.

He remembered feeling like this once before, just after his father had died; he felt powerless and lost, uncertain which direction to move in and helpless to shift the weight that had then settled upon his shoulders. That same week was when Kakashi had first walked into this very apartment, it had been a sad October day, then, everything had been grey and flat. It had been Inoichi, Kakashi recalled, who's shown him to the apartment, on the Sandaime's orders after Sakumo's body had been discovered; Inoichi had just joined the Intel squad, such as it was in those days, and, as the newest member had taken on the job of removing an eight year old Kakashi from the scene. Kakashi remembered swallowing his turmoil and nausea before turning to a twenty year old Inoichi and asking, 'what happens now?' Inoichi had given him such a sad look then, before telling him to get some rest and see the Sandaime tomorrow. It was until some time later that he'd realised Inoichi had probably interpreted Kakashi's question to be 'is my father still alive' rather than the 'what becomes of my fathers effects and finances now' that Kakashi had actually meant. Back then, Kakashi had been able to push his feeling down and squash them under and ever increasing workload and being gone from Konoha as much as he was able; it gnawed quietly at his sense of self for years and he'd happily let it. Until one day he realised he hadn't thought about it at all for a long time… right around the time he started to notice Sakura looking at him.

But that beast was very different from the one he faced now… though identical in the manner they presented themselves. Here he faced an enemy he could do little to defeat and the wreckage of the world did little to alleviate his growing anxieties. The beast that continued to stalk his peripheral vision, which tiptoed around his synapses and upset their delicate chemical balance… Kakashi knew well the physiological reasoning, but it did little to lift the weight that saddled him. And he had no idea what any one event would combat it and that attempting to bury it this time would do nothing but make him worse.

* * *

When Hinata had arrived back in Konoha, she had gone straight back to her clan compound; it still looked as grandiose and imposing as it always had, despite nature's encroachment. The two other Hyuuga who'd also been awoken flanked her, as the only Main House member current awake, the two Branch House members looked to her on instinct, despite their being Jounin.

"Go and rest," She ordered, "We will investigate the extent of the damage tomorrow." They had obeyed and walked off to the far side of the courtyard; Hinata stood for a few moments, the full moon giving ample illumination; the tree branches casting deep shadows over the small central tree; many windows and fusuma had been smashed or torn where several smaller branches of the great tree had forced their way in to capture their targets. She walked slowly towards her front door, easily stepping over the debris and fallen branches from the grand tree which down stood at the courtyard's centre. Her mother had once told her that, despite its small size, the tree had lived for almost a century, the Hyuuga clan having planted it when they settled in Konoha and each successive generation had carefully tended and pruned it to keep it compact and healthy. Hinata, only six at the time and preparing for her first day at the academy, had wondered why the tree should be kept so small when it could grow so large.

"Because, Hinata, if we allowed the tree to grow as it pleased, it would soon dwarf the house, it's leaves would overhand the windows, it's branches would break and damage the roof and it's roots would spread into the foundations." She heard her mother's voice as clearly as if the woman were speaking next to her; even then Hinata got the sense she was speaking about something other than the tree but it was only now, as she stood looking at her cold, ruthless childhood home, that she realised that her mother was probably talking about the Branch House. Hinata looked back across the courtyard to where a small light flicked on in the adjoining house and two shadows moved sombrely around. The old politics might have had their place, back in the dark ages of constant warring and the only trust a shinobi might know was with a clanmate but here, in today's Konoha, such barbaric indifference to human life had no place. And her leadership would change it.

She climbed the steps up to the engawa and pulled open the fusuma, which opened directly into the main hall, where clan meetings were held and training took place… and the site of many a humiliation for her. It was littered with dust and debris; the air as still and cold as she had often found it to be back in her childhood. She half expected to see Hiashi appear from one of the adjoining doors. She crossed the room and walked down the hallway, the main house was a labyrinth of walkways, engawas and rooms, her own being in the very centre of the house. She'd been moved after her attempted kidnapping and Hinata knew that the trauma of that incident, combined with the move away from any windows and the sudden increase in her father's desire to see her become a shinobi unlike any other had destroyed Hinata's sense of self and left her so psychologically weak, she was almost ashamed to recall what she was like back then. Shaking her head to clear her memories, she continued down the hall and took double aspected room at the end. She took a futon from the cupboard and hurriedly got ready for bed, despite her turmoiled thoughts, she  _was_  exhausted.

She'd awoken early the next day and set about cleaning and repairing the damage, when Ryutsa and Yiro had awoken and come to find her with a freshly brewed pot of tea which they'd almost dropped in at the sight of her with only a loose jinbei and trousers on, her hair in a high bun and on her knees scrubbing the floorboards.

"Ah… Hinata-sama, you should not have to—"

"No." She's risen to her feet and turned to them, "We all need to put in equal work if we are to help restore the compound and get Konoha back on its feet. I will take over as head of the clan from here on and I will abolish the Branch House. No one else will suffer the mark nor will you be expected to throw your lives away because of clan politics." Ryutsa and Yiro had merely stared at Hinata for several long moments, apparently unsure how to respond. "From here on, I ask only that you protect the clan to the same level that Tsunade-sama asks of her shinobi to Konoha."

"H-hai, Hinata-sama."

"Then please help me to clean up the buildings of the compound." They had gladly agreed and hopped to the task, though not before bowing to her; the insidious threads of politics would take a while to unpick.

Eventually Hinata had to face her father's study, a room she had been in only thrice before and each time she had been alone with her father's animosity and dissatisfaction. Hiashi had been a man born into leadership and took up its mantel with gusto, though the only definition he was able to create was a pallid reflection of the clan's former egoists who believed that bullying and coercion were the only way to get others to follow orders. Despite the large window, Hiashi's office had remained untouched since the last time he'd left it, his low desk sat in the middle of the room, behind it, with his back to the window was the ancient zabuton Hiashi used. Somewhere she'd heard that it had belonged to her great-grandfather. Either side of the desk were two enormous tansu which stepped up the walls in an identical manner, mirroring each other. They were carved from cherrywood and dominated the room, blocking out a lot of light from the window it created only a narrow channel for it to enter the room, in turn blocked by Hiashi as he sat at his desk. How he could bear to have his back to the beautiful woods behind him, Hinata had never understood.

She decided to start with the tansu to her left, with the obvious drawers and cupboards — well aware that the two enormous chests were probably stuffed to the gils with secret compartments and booby-trapped spaces — but she'd worry about those later. The initial compartments were filled with clan documentation, marriages, births, deaths and related minutiae; there were also documents detailing the hierarchy for siblings and how it was to be decided which children were accepted into the Main House and which were foisted off into the Branch. Hinata was well aware that her father had been the first born twin and owing to that hand of fate, his six minute younger brother, Hizashi, had been cursed to bear the seal of the Branch House. Hinata had wondered why her own younger sister, Hanabi, had not been used with the same hand; she'd often assumed that it was mostly owing to Hinata's unsatisfactory development… but that didn't entirely explain it all. Besides, who made the decisions as to who became Branch or Main? Was it purely birthright? Or did it fall to the whims of the head of the Main House?

* * *

Tsuande settled herself in her office chair, the mountains of paperwork that she'd left behind when she deployed up to Kaminari territory still sat exactly where she'd left them; the bloody sunset was casting deep shadows in her office and it did little to sooth her mood. Right now, things were fairly stable, the Otsutsuki seemed unperturbed by the awakening of so many shinobi but there was no telling how long that might last. Even with Naruto and Sakura having the ability to fight using sage techniques, there was still no good reason to believe that they two could potentially win against the Kaguya… especially where two powerful shinobi, blessed by Hagoromo no less had previously failed. Sasuke was clinging on to life and whether or not he lived for several weeks more, he was useless to them. Tsuande sighed to herself and reached into her side cupboard where an unopened bottle of sake sat, she pulled the cork off, wiped the dust from her bowl and poured a little out; even the strong smell of sake wasn't enough to lift her foul mood. She doubted the taste would elicit a more positive reaction, but she sorely desired to be simply absent for a short while, to forget her troubles until at least the sun rose again. Just as she picked up the small bowl, balanced between her finger and thumb, a sudden, enormous cloud of smoke filled her office. It was sudden enough that it caused her drop her bowl of sake, spilling it over the table,

"Kuso!" Tsuande swore, jumping to her feet,

"Sorry to surprise you, Tsunade-shishou."

..

.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again! Hope you’re ready for BAMF!Sakura. I have to say: I am SO there for weirdly-smart-Naruto, I actually think he is quite an emotionally sensitive person, but he just talks in such a way that he comes across as a complete idiot (~glares at Sandaime for forcing Naruto into a shitty upbringing that could have be SO EASILY avoided~) Also: this chapter is rated M for sexual situations! This story’s rating as a whole might go up to include more… uh “detailed” situations in later chapters, but I haven't quite decided yet.

 

“Sa-Sakura! You’re back!” Tsunade stood gaping at her student for a moment or two, before she almost leapt over the desk and hurried to embrace her, which Sakura happily returned. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in years, how are you? How was your training? You look stronger.” Tsunade asked as she pulled back to lean on her desk, looking at her form student for a long moment. Sakura looked very settled, her expression was calm. Where before Sakura had always struck her as something of an anxious character — clever and aware of it, but never confident in it — she could easily extrapolate information and come to conclusions though she rarely presented the information as fact, rather a question and had been a bad habit Tsunade had tried to free her from for years. The Sakura stood in front of her now looked as if she had been gifted insight and carried it with ease.

“Hai, being awoken from the Tsukikomi was definitely a… shock… but I’ve enjoyed training with Mageruko-sama.”

“How is that old slug?”

“Still grouchy and talks in riddles,” Sakura replied, an easy smile on her face, which Tsunade returned, 

“I’ve only met him once, when Grandfather summoned him, I must have only been about six or seven but I remember thinking he was ancient at that age.”

“Haha.”

“How has the training gone, were you successful?”

“Hai, it took some time for me to be able to utilise the energy and read it correctly, but we will not fail in breaking Otsutsuki’s grip on the world.”

“You sound very confident.” Tsunade said, it was only a statement,

Sakura shrugged slightly, “It is not meant to be a boast, only that… in accessing the natural energy it allowed me to  _see_  the energy that binds the world together, it let me  _see_ how chakra works.”

“Works?”

“Ah, it’s very hard to explain verbally but chakra is… more like a virus… its natural to us, now, but it can be pulled from the body, it can be transferred between people… charka is finite but natural energy is not.” Sakura said; Tsunade cocked her head slightly, 

“I’m not sure I understand you.”

“I don’t think I can make it any more sensible unless I demonstrate, but, before that how has Shizune’s research being going on the tree? Has she made any progress?” 

“We’ve been more focused on Yamato and retraining what shinobi we have available to us at the moment. Yamato’s condition remains unchanged at this point in time, though I have found some interesting—” Tsunade’s sentence was bitten off by her office door slamming open by the forceful arm of the Raikage, the heavily muscled man took up the entire doorway and his imposing presence filled the room. In years gone, Sakura would have found herself intimidated by such a man, but now she didn’t even flinch, he was just as mortal as any of them. For his bluster and bravado were just noise and failed to impress.

“Godaime! I—” A paused as he saw Sakura, “Who is that?”

“Haruno Sakura, she has just retuned from her sage-training.” Tsunade replied cooly, no more impressed by him than her student, 

“Why is she so tiny? How can she help us?” He asked, looking Sakura up and down with no small amount of derision; Tsunade and Sakura shared a brief look, 

“Sage training is far more than brute force, Raikage-sama; though I certainly have plenty of that, too.” 

“Hmph,” Raikage did not believe her; Sakura settled her movements and called upon her natural energy as the enormous man walked towards her, “I don’t  _see_  any muscles,” He was barely a pace from her, clearly annoyed that his standard game of intimidation wasn’t working. 

“Gather your chakra, Raikage-sama.” Sakura merely replied, feeling the natural energy swirl; he looked over to Tsunade who merely shrugged, her confidence in Sakura not wavering for a second. He looked back and, although rather unnerved at the antennae that had sprouted from her hairline and the two stripes of Caribbean Current ran down either side of her head and neck; the Raikage would not back down from a challenge issued. He gathered his chakra to his right arm and pulled back, aiming a punch at her face.

His arm was swift and in less than a second his knuckles were grazing her cheek, though Sakura was faster, her left arm rose until her hand cupped the underside of his tricep; for all the power A could muster, none of it contacted her, but rather it bypassed her, passed harmlessly through her and fed right back into the Raikage’s arm. With minimal effort on her part, she lifted him clean off his feet and slammed him down on his back in a clean arc; his right arm broken and mangled, the bones shattering right up to his collar bone and shoulder.

“Ugh!” The Raikage merely laid on his back for a few minutes, fighting the savage pain which coursed through him whilst trying to wrap his brain around what had just happened. 

“Perhaps you need some time to think about how easily your eyes deceive you, Raikage-sama, I will happily heal you tomorrow… unless you would like to ask Tsunade-sama.” Sakura said, looking down at the Raikage from the corner of her eye. He glanced over to see the smug expression on the Hokage’s face and gritted his teeth, 

“You have my apologies… Haruno-san, your skills are indeed… impressive.”

“I’ll heal you in a few moments, Raikage; Sakura, get some rest tonight, I’ll meet with you and Naruto first thing tomorrow morning and we’ll talk about strategies.”

“Hai, Tsunade-sama,” Sakura, who’d reverted back to her normal state, bowed to her Hokage, 

“And… if you think you’re up to it, I think you and Kakashi need to have a conversation… but please don’t break any of  _his_  bones. If you’d rather wait until all this is over, I understand.”

“Hai, Tsunade-sama,” Sakura couldn’t help the breath of laughter that escaped her, “We do need to talk. See you tomorrow, Shishou.” Sakura glanced back down at the still prostrate man, “Raikage-sama.” And with that, she was gone.

* * *

 

 

The village looked so different now, even though he’d been back for weeks, he still couldn’t get the old image of Konoha out of his head: bustling with civilians and shinobi, green leaves and clear blue sky, but this Konoha was criss-crossed with deep shadows and suspended spectral beings. With such a small population now, it was too difficult to clean everything up and restore it to its former glory… he couldn’t wait until they could finally awaken everyone and the village could go back to normal.  _Even though it won’t be normal? Normal was back then, when I was Hokage, when I had Hinata and Iruka… and Sakura and Kakashi were happy…_ His thoughts reminding him of his former sensei and how he hadn’t seen him hardly at all since they returned to Konoha. He’s tried to catch his former sensei several times, occasionally to help him train — which Kakashi often politely rebuffed or half-heartedly humoured him by setting Naruto some challenge or other which usually took the Uzumaki far away from him. He’d had also tried dropping in on Kakashi at his apartment, but he had been met only with further resistance — once he’d even managed to provoke Kakashi’s genuine anger and it had been a terrifying sight. 

He’d popped in through his sensei’s window at just about dinner time, only to find the apartment cold and the Copy Nin sat in dimming light; Naruto had found himself intensely concerned about the change in his sensei and had become almost obsessed with trying to help him return to his usual self. For all his efforts, though, they had not been appreciated and never before had he faced the brunt of Kakashi’s profound anger — irritation and impatience often — but that evening, for the first time he’d been able to truly frighten Naruto. Never before had Naruto even entertained the idea that Kakashi would ever raise a serious hand to him (he even doubted that Kakashi would do as such to Sasuke, as much as the doofus might have often deserved it), but as he’s shoved him out the door, there was some barbarous gleam in his dark eyes that Naruto had been unable to ignore. But just as fast as it appeared, the door slammed shut and Naruto was alone in the empty corridor. 

He’d wandered the largely deserted streets for hours afterwards, too unnerved to return home and sleep; his mind whirred with just what was wrong with Kakashi and what on earth he could do to help him. If Iruka-sensei was still around, he’s probably just tell him that Kakashi needed some space and that pushing him wouldn’t help. But how could he do that? Kakashi-sensei was hurting and it was his duty as Team 7 Family to do what he could… but what would help?  _Kakashi was acting like Sasuke-teme when we were genin, he was alone but he rejected our company… Kakashi must feel alone, even thought there’s a lot of the Leaf ninja around. Hmm, but I still feel alone, because Hinata isn’t with me… and my little Iruka isn’t with me._

Naruto instinctively looked down to his side, where he could so easily imagine his small son hurrying to keep up with his long legs; his enormous blue eyes staring up at him, excitedly showing his farther anything and everything that caught his interest. Iruka’s passion for life had mirrored Naruto’s own at that age, though he’d never had anyone to share his excitement with and as a result, he made a point of never letting Iruka feel like he was bothering his father. Hinata had often warned him he was spoiling his son, but Naruto just couldn’t bring himself not to.

_Maybe Kakashi wanted Sakura back but she’s not here? Kakashi probably wanted his Misaki back too, but she doesn’t even exist…_

He’d eventually taken himself home for a fitful night’s sleep, the anxiety of Hinata and their relationship gnawed at him relentlessly until he eventually gotten out of bed far earlier than he usually bothered to do so and hurried out of his apartment.

Naruto had intended to march right into the compound and find Hinata but as soon as he saw the main arch he found himself loosing his nerve. Before he knew it he’d been hovering in the entryway for nearly half an hour,

“Naruto-kun?” A sudden voice behind him said,

“Ack!”

“Um… what are you doing? Are you here to see Hinata-sama?” 

“H-hai, is she all right? I haven’t seen her for ages.” Naruto replied, Yiro gesturing for Naruto to follow him into the compound,

“Hai, Hinata-sama is well, she has been working hard to restore the buildings, we’ve been helping as much as we can, but there is still a lot we need to wait until we have more clan members revived,”

“I could help! I can be lots of people, what do you need me to do?”

“Ah, I’m sure Hinata-sama will be delighted with the help, you should talk with her first.” Yiro led him across to the main house and in through the open fusuma; Naruto had only been in the Hyuuga compound a handful of times — in his dreams — and back then he’s certainly felt the coldness and impersonal nature of the main hall. There had never been any photographs on display, only two tapestries had flanked either side of the hall: the emblems of the Leaf and the Clan. The tapestries still hung, though were still covered in dust. “I apologise for the uncleanliness of the house, Naruto-kun.”

“Um, no, its okay, my house is still a mess, too.” He chuckled, eliciting a smile from Yiro, “So… is Hinata taking over as head of the Clan? Or will Hiashi-ojii-san take back over when we wake him up?”

“I believe Hinata-sama is planning on taking over leadership permanently,” Yiro answered, his voice expressing no discernible emotion, 

“And… are you happy about that?” Naruto prodded, though before he could get an answer, Yiro stopped walking, 

“Hinata-sama, Naruto-kun is here to see you,” He called out, 

“Hai, show him in please.” She answered from the far side of the fusuma; Yiro slid open the panel, bowed low and gestured for Naruto to walk in.

“Thanks,” Naruto said, receiving another bow from Yiro, who slid then slid the door closed and his quiet footsteps carried him off down the hall. “Um, hi, Hinata, how are you?” Naruto stood awkwardly by the door, barely able to see his former wife from beneath the mountains of paperwork; every drawer and cupboard on the twin tansus were open, their contents spilled out as if an tornado had suddenly sprouted from nowhere, terrorised the room and then promptly disappeared. “Is this all… damage from the tree? Haha, it’s such a mess in here.”

“I’ve been going through my father’s records and clan history, Naruto, sorry I haven’t spoken to you for a while, I’ve been busy here. How are you?” Hinata answered, peering up from over the pile of disorganised papers to look at him,

“Um, good… we’re just waiting for Sakura to come back then we’re gonna go and fight Otsutsuki and wake up everyone.”

“You make it sound very simple.”

“Um, well, a lot of things are actually simple but I guess we like to overcomplicate them.” Naruto answered, feeling very much like a stranger, due to both the setting and the company.

“That is true.” Hinata looked at him oddly for a moment, 

“Ah, I was going to ask, do you want to have lunch with me? Maybe as a, uh, date?”

“I don’t really have the time at the moment, Naruto and until the issue with Otsutsuki and the tree is resolved, I’m not sure its… appropriate.” Her voice was gentle but firm, her attention quickly returning to document in hand; Naruto stood in front of her awkwardly for a few minutes, his emotions suddenly welling in him. His vision blurred before he could help it. 

“No-nothing’s ever gonna go back, is it?” 

“Naruto?” Hinata leapt to her feet at the sight of his tears, “What’s happening? Are you okay?”

“Everything’s wrong! No one’s happy… we’re not together, our little boy is gone.” He sobbed, “Kakashi is so sad, he doesn’t have Misaki or Sakura… our children are never gonna play together again and grow up together and be put on the same Genin team and learn teamwork and be cool rivals and do awesome missions.” Naruto babbled through his sobs, Hinata pulled him into her arms, 

“I’m so sorry Naruto, I’m not rejecting you and I think Kakashi and Sakura will get back together.”

“But—but— even if they do and have a kid— it won’t be Misaki… Even if  _we_  have a— another child it won’t  _be Iruka_ , will it? It will be some different kid… they’ll look different, they’ll grow up differently… how do we live with that?”

* * *

 

Kakashi stared out of his window, watching the last of the light fade to black as he waited for his dinner to heat; he wasn’t hungry for anything he could find, but his body needed fuel and he fuel it he would. He stood leaning against the counter for so long that his eyes lost focus and he was staring at nothing and subsequently the  _bing!_ of the timer nearly made him jump out of his skin. Cursing himself for his uncharacteristic carelessness, he hurried to grab a tea towel and pull the dish of leftovers from the oven; he heard his window open and close, 

“Naruto, if that’s you, I only have enough dinner for one.” He stated half-wishing it was just his ears playing tricks on him, 

“It’s not.” Came the reply, forcing Kakashi to spin on his heels, to confirm what his ears were telling him; there stood Sakura, just in front of the window. He could do nothing but stare at her for a few long moments, she looked different yet the same; her arms looked bigger, even though her dark overshirt, stronger and settled, in her eyes was a look of cool collectedness. He just stared until the pain in his hands reminded him he was still holding a hot plate, which he promptly dropped, the plate shattered and his meagre dinner splattered over the floor. “Aiya!” 

“Here,” Sakura was upon him in a second, her hands inches from his, her healing chakra bridging the narrowest of gaps that now separated them, though the gulf remained. “Feel better?”

“Yes.” He breathed, uncomfortably conscious of how close she was; she stepped back half a pace, her intense green eyes boring into his,

“I know everything’s a mess right now and I have no idea how you feel, about this situation, about the Tsukikomi, about the relationship we had or even how you feel about me now. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure how I feel about all of it, things have changed very fast over a very short period of time.” She said, her eyes not budging from his, as though the words had been simply waiting to escape her, as if they had been a caged leopard: tensed and ready to flee at the first opportunity. Sakura issued a short huff, her eyes slipping from his to glance around his apartment as if shocked by them herself; an irresistible smile suddenly pulled at her lips, 

“What?”

“Mr Ukki looks so small… I hate this feeling that things have been reset.” She looked back to him, “I know I have a whole bunch of things that have happened in my life I wished I had a reset button for and I’m sure you can think of a few things yourself, but out of everything that’s ever happened to me the only thing I wished would never be reset was our relationship.” Sakura spoke barely above a whisper, “Hinata said something to me, right before I left and it made a lot of sense: we’ve been given another chance, Kakashi, a chance to live another life, to explore other possibilities.” She stepped away from him and took a seat on his table; he was paralysed, unable to do anything other than listen. “If we get back together something tells me that it won’t go back to exactly how it was, we might have memories of things we  _thought_  we’d discussed and understood about each other, but they might be false… In my head, your favourite breakfast was western style scrambled eggs, but is that still true? Or was it something that just developed because of the conditions of the Tsukikomi? Our dreams, no matter how crazy, always seem to make sense to us at the time.” She offered a short half-shrug, not even sure where she was going with her thoughts herself.

“Sakura, I want you… I mean, I still want to be with you. I know things can’t go back to exactly how they were but I want to try.” He found himself whispering, inching closer to her as he spoke, as strong as she looked, she still seemed so little compared to him. His hand leapt to his mask, pulling it down to his neck and Sakura lips were upon him in the same moment, her hand weaving in his hair. Her kiss was urgent but familiar, her scent and warmth bringing him back to the first time they’d been intimate; he was acting almost on instinct as their tongues met and his hands found her hips to pull her body against his. Her legs had wrapped around him and her free hand had crept under his shirt and up his side in a moment, her slender fingers carefully smoothing over every dip and scar she found with tantalising pressure. He finally broke the kiss to draw in a deep ragged breath, her own pluming over his bare neck as she moved to press tiny, tantalising kiss along his jaw, pulling him over as she did so. His weight pressing her against the table as he rocked his hips into hers, relishing her groan of satisfaction as his straining erection rubbed her just so. “Sakura.” He breathed, his hand finding its way beneath her shirt to her breast, regretful they were still bound—

“Oi! Kakashi!” Naruto’s brash voice sliced through the moment better than any kunai could’ve, “Kakashi!” He rapped on the door sharply, “I know you’re angry with me and I’m sorry about the other day, but Tsunade-baa-chan wants to see us! Its about Sasuke!”

“Hai! I’ll meet you at the hospital.” Kakashi barked before slumping into Sakura, resting his forehead on the cool table, he felt Sakura’s breath of laughter against his ear as she wrapped her arms around him,

“Naruto never fails, does he?” 

“Maa.” Kakashi only grumbled in reply, 

“Nor Sasuke for that matter… I guess we’ll have to go, for Kami-sama’s sake.” Sakura squeezed him close for a moment before pulling her arms from around his back entirely and Kakashi lazily pushed himself to nearly upright, the tightness in his trousers resisting him all the way. Still bracing his weight over the table he awkwardly helped Sakura upright, she perched on the edge of the table, 

“Does Tsunade-sama want you to take one of Sasuke’s eyes?”

“Eh?” He answered, caught off guard by her question, “Yes, she mentioned it.”

“It would be a prudent move.” She answered, “But are  _you_  okay with that decision? Do you want the eye?”

“I can’t think of a good reason to say no and a hundred reasons why I should say yes. I still wake up sometimes with my left eye still closed and walk around like that for ages until I remember,” He admitted, a breath of embarrassed laughter escaping him,

“You don’t have to have a reason to say ‘no’.”

“I know, but, there’s more at stake than just me, here.” Kakashi adjusted his trousers and pulled his mask back up, “And we’re going to need every edge we can get, it’s a small price to pay.” He walked over to where her flack-jacket lay and slipped it over his shoulders. Sakura slid off the table and smoothed her hair out, 

“You might not even have to make the call tonight, let’s just go and see what Tsunade-sama wants us for.”

…

“Sakura? Oh my god, Sakura! You’re back!” Naruto was nearly frothing at the mouth when he saw a flash of pink and had scooped her up in a bone crushing hug within seconds.

“Hai, hai, I just got back an hour or so ago, Naruto.” She hugged him back, surprising herself with just how happy she was to see him. 

“How was the sage training? Do you turn into a slug? What was it like? Did you learn any katas?”

“Well, I get the little eye-stalks but I don’t go full slug.”

“We should train! I wanna see how strong you are!”

“There will be plenty of time for training tomorrow,” Tsunade interrupted, “But right now we’re going awaken Ino, Naruto why did you tell them to come here? Why are you even here, for that matter?” Tsunade questioned a clearly embarrassed Naruto,

“Ah, I guess I just heard you say something about Sasuke and thought something was happening with him..?”

“Baka,” Tsunade scolded, “Well, this was just a false alarm, you two go home, but Sakura, since you’re here you might as well be there when Ino wakes up.”

“Hai, Tsunade-sama,” Sakura replied, casting a quick glance at Kakashi before she walked off down the corridor, to follow Tsunade, “Is there any particular reason you’re waking her up now?”

“There isn't much point now, Sasuke isn’t able to communicate with her any longer and with you back, we’ll soon be ready to make a move regardless and I'd like Ino to be at full strength as soon as possible, I had been intending to wake her up a lot earlier, but then you arrived.”

“Hmm, has Zetsu been making any more appearances?”

“Here and there, why?”

“Any doubts to his loyalty?” Sakura asked, 

“No, not a solid ‘no’ either way, but there isn’t anything we can really do about him, its better to focus on what we can do right now and Ino will be a big help.”

 

“Hgn…what—?” Ino groggily answered, her eyes slowly opening, 

“You were under the Infinite Tsukikomi, remember? Sasuke told you about it?” Tsunade said, 

“Wh… oh yeah, where am I?”  


“Konoha, we were able to move you back here, sorry for the unexpected awakening but Sasuke’s too ill to talk to you anymore.”

“Yeah, I guessed as such, its been such a long time since I’ve seen him.” She sat up slowly pushing away the plant fibres from her body, helped by Sakura and Tsunade, "Where’s Gai? Has he been woken up?”

“Not just yet, his body is very badly damaged so we’ll need to be more careful with him, we haven’t had the resources nor manpower to properly set up an ICU for him.”

“What?-!”

“Don’t you remember?”

“No! Kami-sama, he’ll be crushed!” Ino wiped her hand over her eyes, “We’ve been training a lot together under the Tsukikomi… he’s going to be heartbroken.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to fix him once this is all over.” Sakura said, drawing Ino’s attention, “We have to defeat Ootsutsuki first.”

“Yeah…”

“How you feel, Ino? Any pains anywhere? Any numbness?” The Godaime asked,

“No, no I feel fine.”

“Come on, I’ll walk you home.” Sakura offered, stretching out her hand to help Ino to her feet, 

“Ino I want you to report to me tomorrow afternoon, you might have a bit of trouble sleeping, but take it easy over the next few days.”

“Hai, Tsunade-sama.”

“Oh and I almost forgot, due to damages in Konoha, you’re going to have to stay with Hinata at the Hyuuga compound just for a few days, I’ve already spoken to her and she’s agreed.”

“Wh-hang on, what? What happened to my apartment?”

“It was crushed under one of the branches of the tree, sorry.” Sakura explained, trying not to laugh at Ino’s outraged expression, “Come on.” They both walked away, off the roof and down through the corridors of the hospital, 

“It’s weird how quiet it is here… and how dark, it was the middle of the afternoon in my, uh, dreams, I guess.”

“Weird, isn’t it? At least you didn’t have to wake up in the middle of a half-dead forest and sleep out with no supplies.” 

“Ugh, yeah, at least I can go home… well, to  _a_  home anyway. How long ago were you woken up? From your perspective, I mean?”

“Almost a month ago.”

“For me, its been almost a year… I’d thought you’d been acting weird, Shikamaru too, so I guess it wasn’t the biggest shock when Sasuke appeared and told me about the jutsu.”

“How did you know I was acting weird?” Sakura asked, as they stepped out onto the street, 

“I tested you once, I asked you about Sasuke and you acted as if you barely remembered he existed, it was largely the same for the others—whoa! This place looks like shit!”

“Haha, I thought that too when I first go back, but apparently everyone’s been tidying up loads, too even though it still looks like this.”

“When you got back?” Ino queried, “From where?”

“I went off to master the sage arts in the Shikkotsu Forest.”

“What?-!”

“With such limited manpower we didn’t think we’d stand much of a chance without a bit extra and Katsuyuu thought I had a good chance to learn it, so I went.”

“Just like that?” Ino asked, incredulity colouring her words, 

“Try not to sounds too jealous, Ino.” Sakura chided, unable to keep the smile off her face, 

“I wasn’t! I didn’t meant it like that, Forehead, I just meant you said it so casually, like just went out for some groceries and came back with the sage arts.”

“Hahaha!” Sakura laughed loudly, “I’m glad you’re back, Ino, I’ve missed you.” 

“I’ve missed you too, Forehead.”

 

“Haruno-san, Yamanaka-san, welcome.” Yiro bowed to the both as he stood at the entrance the Hyuuga compound, “Please follow me and I’ll take you to Hinata-sama.”

“Ah, thank you,” Ino replied, bowing in return, half surprised at the juxtaposition of his formality; he led them across the empty square, the enormous tree at its centre gleaming in the moonlight. The three wooden steps creaked slightly as the climbed onto the engawa; Yiro slid open the fusuma and allowed Ino and Sakura to walk into the main hall,

“Please take a seat. Hinata-sama will be here in a moment.” Yiro said politely,

“Thank you for showing them in, Yiro-san, but you don’t need to be quite so polite, they are friends, after all.” Hinata said, as she strode into the room, “Ino, Sakura, how are you both?”

“Uh, pretty good, considering the circumstances.” Ino replied, shocked at the relaxed confidence Hinata was exuding, 

“Yes, Tsunade-sama told me they were waking you up today, it’s been a bit of shock, right?”

“Well, I was sort-of briefed by Sasuke ahead of time, so it hasn’t been a complete bombshell, but…” Ino trailed off, raising her eyebrows slightly by way of signalling her feelings, Hinata let out a breath of laugher and nodded her head,

“I think I understand; Sakura, how did your sage training go? I’m pleased you're back.”

“Thanks, Hinata, it went well, Naruto and I will be starting training tomorrow.” Sakura replied, “Speaking of which, I should go and get a goodnight’s sleep. Goodnight, Hinata, Ino.”

“Night!” Ino replied, 

“Night, Sakura.” Hinata said as the kuniochi disappeared in a puff of smoke, “I’ll show you to your room, Ino, where you can get a shower and some clean clothes.”

“Thanks, and thanks for taking me in, I can’t believe I’ve lost my apartment.”

“It’s not a problem, we have plenty of room with most of the clan still under.” Hinata rose to her feet and Ino did the same,

“What will happen when the rest wake up? I guess Hiashi will take over again?”

“No, I am taking over as head of the clan. Whether Hiashi likes it or not.” Hinata firmly replied, 

“You… sound really confident about it, Hinata.” Ino said, prompting Hinata to turn her enormous pale eyes on her, “It suits you.” Ino said with complete sincerity, Hinata smiled broadly, 

“It was about time, wasn’t it?”


	9. Chapter 9

_Apologies if this chapter feels a biiiiiiiiiit like filler, but it is necessary for laying down some grounding for later chapters (plus it just didn’t make sense to have them going straight into fighting the Mother without at least a bit of prep!) That and I want to savemost of the fighting scenes for the actual battle and not end up repeating bits. All that said: I hope you enjoy! This chapter is rated_ **_Mature_ ** _for_ **_sexual content_ ** _! Underage eyes and those not wanting to read_ **_please skip ahead to the first page-break!_ ** _For those of you who do read it, I’m so sorry! It has been a very long time since I’ve written anything like this and I’ve spent an embarrassingly long time trying to figure out where limbs go?? How do hands work?? What are noises?Needless to say: please take with_ _~~pinch~~  _ _tablespoon of salt._

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**Hakujitsumu IX**

Sakura awoke slowly, keenly aware of how comfortably warm she felt and how soft the leaves were beneath her, until she realised they weren’t leaves at all but a bed. She cracked her eyes open to see the pale, struggling strands of sunlight across carpet,  _huh?_ She shifted slightly and felt the arms around her tighten,

“Mornin’,” Kakashi mumbled as he pressed several lazy kisses to her bare shoulder; Sakura turned over to face him, her memories returning of the previous evening and where she was. His lips gladly met her’s in a long and lazy kiss, his taste and scent so deeply familiar but somehow novel, it felt as if she had been starved of his touch for years. His large hands smoothed gently up her back, pulling her closer as her own hands found their way into his fluffy, tangled hair. They kissed and kissed, Sakura wasn’t even conscious of pausing for breath as she instinctively pushed herself against him, desperate to get just a little closer. Her leg hooked itself over his hip and the feel of his hardness rubbing through her folds drew a satisfied groan from her throat; Kakashi again slipped his tongue into her mouth, his hand smoothing down to squeeze her ass. She rolled her hips into his in a silent request for more and the hand continued its journey and finger parted her folds in its decisive journey to her clit, rubbing slow firm circles when it found its treasure. But just as soon as he began his hand was gone, suddenly pulling at her knee, readjusting it over his hip and as soon as Sakura’s cry of protest was formed it died when the blunt tip of his erection pressed against her clit and his fingers fluttered over her entrance. Sakura couldn’t keep herself quiet, even with Kakashi’s mouth on hers. 

“Yes?” He breathed, 

“Yes!” She replied, her arm pulling his lips down to hers, and the moment they touched, he thrust in full and hard, drinking down her cry as he bottomed out; he held still for a brief moment, but only for a moment before he pulled back and rammed himself forwards, again and again. He leant down to rest his chest on hers, he kept a hold of most of his weight, but it was still enough to crush her against the bed. As frustrating as it was to be so powerless, the thickness of his cock, the neediness of his mouth and the weight of his body against hers felt incredibly good; she clenched tightly about him, which had him snap his hips roughly into hers, Sakura’s legs jumped up to clamp around his hips and his pace picked up and his body sunk completely into hers, his arms coiled around her chest holding her flush and tight to him as his hips rocked furiously in hers, he didn’t draw far out but he made up for it in strength. Sakura’s hands wandered restlessly from his back up to his hair and down again, frustrated by her inability to influence his movements. He grunted sharply, slowed his pace now merely rolling his hips into hers,

“No, not yet-” She protested, released her legs from around him, and her hand found her clit, her finds rubbing and teasing the small nub to catch her up to her partner squeezing around him as she did so. He couldn’t hold off any longer; barred his teeth to her neck, not biting painfully but it was enough to set a deep arch in her back which he took advantage of by thrusting forwards, once, twice and cementing his hips to hers. Sakura was moments from completion, instinctively opening her legs further, waiting for the next thrust that would carry her over the edge but instead of pulling back he released and the sudden spurt was just enough to trigger her orgasm. She held him close as her body shook with her release, the twitches of his hips prolonging her high. 

How long they laid there Sakura had no idea, but eventually he pulled out and slid off her, pulling her against his side as they pressed their lips together in a few lazy kisses, 

“I came too fast.” He mumbled, 

“Mmh,” She agreed, “I think it’s just been a while, in my professional opinion.”

“And what does the Doctor prescribe?”

“Practice.”

 

* * *

 

“Do you agree, Kakashi?”

“Hai, Tsunade-sama, I think it is the right decision. What does Sasuke have to say?”

“He has begrudgingly agreed, I want to get on with the surgery as soon as possible to give you maximum recovery and some time to practice.”

“I was able to use the transplanted sharingan almost instantly and, from what we saw with Madara, he was able to utilise the eyes he gained without any delay, though I realise there is some significant differences between he and I.” 

Tsunade nodded in understanding, “I have really nothing to go on when it comes to speculating your ability to handle the eye, but the rinnegan is a variant of both the sharingan and byakugan, both of which have been transplanted into non-inheritors in the past, I think it will be possible, but what effect it will have on your chakra levels will be down to you to figure out. I’ll tell you this now: don’t take risks and recklessly exhaust yourself. Given that you’ll be with Naruto and Sakura — and what they’re both like — they might well falter at a critical moment and won’t be there ti save you if you’re in too much danger. Or worse, put yourself in a coma before we’ve even left Konoha which knocks you out for a month or two.”

“Hai.” Kakashi agreed, wanting to believe in his students but he knew all too well what they were like. And what he was like.

 

* * *

 

Ino had spent a long time talking with Hinata the night before and she had been shocked to realise that they had far more in common than Ino had ever realised; they laughed loudly and often over everything and nothing and talked at great length about who they thought they were and who they’d suddenly found themselves to be. Hinata had looked so at ease and seemed so comfortable in her own skin, for what was probably the first time in her life and Ino couldn’t feel anything but thrilled for her. Ino wasn’t proud of who she’d been as a teenager. As a child, she remembered not being afraid to defend Sakura, of not being intimidated by bullying boys, but before she’d realised it, she found herself looking at other women as competition; she found she’d somehow internalised the idea that men were the  _right way_  to be humans and women were the  _wrong way_. That women had to be prettier, skinnier, more desirable, strong but not too strong, clever but not too clever. And whatever another woman was good at, it reflected poorly on Ino. When this started she couldn’t remember but Ino did remember when she suddenly realised that she had no need to destroy other women in order to prove her own worth.

She’d been shadowing Ibiki and Shimon on an interrogation, a woman from Ame territory. She’d appeared to be civilian and played the part masterfully, but after they’d used their jutsu on her, all that remained was  _how_  and  _why_. Ino had sat in on the interrogations and it had only been then, on that day, that she actually  _listened_ to the language everyone, all the men, around her were using. In front of them sat a kuniochi, a jounin as strong as any of them: she’d killed three and had severely injured four others in her capture. But a woman and fat. The derision and dirty words thrown her way, both in and out of earshot appalled Ino: they all focused purely on her gender and weight. They almost seemed impressed at the people she’d killed, impressed that a  _fat woman_  should be capable of such things. Even Ibiki hadn’t seemed to care, he never really stated that he agreed, but he didn’t correct them, either. It had been the tipping point and right after, was when she’d begun to train with Gai and his honest, unprejudiced view of the world had been such a radical juxtaposition again the men she worked with — and the bigotry that she had internalised — that Ino had found her perspective had flipped almost upon its axis in a matter of days and she felt like she didn’t recognise herself anymore.

Gai, true to his style, had sensed her internal conflict and had happily offered her an ear; she’d awkwardly explained what was bothering her, ashamed for admitting her unkindness and narrow mind. When she’d finished, Gai had merely looked at her and said, “I’m proud of you. It is not easy to find our own flaws and it takes a good deal of courage to face them and try to be better after but it is some of the most important work we will ever do. It’s okay to be in turmoil whilst you are battling those elements of yourself you don’t like.” And then suggested they dive right into training to help clear her mind for a little while.

 

“Ino? Are you all right?” Hinata’s voice brought her back to reality, 

“Huh?” Ino blinked,

“You looked a million miles away.” 

“Sorry, sorry, I was just thinking about Gai.” Ino replied, shifting on her zabuton, a little embarrassed that she’d been so lost in thought,

“Gai?” Hinata queried, 

“Under the Infinite Tsukikomi and we trained together a lot, he’s a fantastic instructor, you know.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have thought that.” Hinata said, not unkindly, as she poured Ino out a cup of tea.

“I wouldn’t have either, but once you get past the flamboyance he’s very insightful and kind, he never once talked down to me, or made any sort of negative — or sexist — remark… you know, that reminds me, what was Kurenai like as a Jounin sensei?” Ino asked, leaning forwards both as an expression of her interest in Hinata’s answer and to pick up her cup of tea, 

“Uh, Kurenai? In what way?”

“Did she focus mostly on the boys? Did she ever have anything negative to say about women? About you because of your femininity?” 

Hinata thought for a moment, “I don’t directly recall her doing so, but I think she did make some effort to not behave ‘too girly’ in front of the other jounin, she seemed rather different in front of others than when it was just her and I. But I wasn’t really paying all that much attention in those days, I suppose.” 

“You were always so shy back then,” Ino offered gently, “I guess you must have been under a lot of pressure as heir to clan.” 

Hinata nodded, “There was that and I was kept from doing so many normal childhood things, the things that gives kids confidence in themselves, because of my status, and Father was hardly a patient man at the best of times.”

“If heirs are so important to a clan, you’d like to think that they’d dedicate some actual effort into raising their children into stable, well rounded people, wouldn’t you?” The words were out of Ino’s mouth before she could think better of them, “oh, uh, um—” She fumbled to backpedal but after a moment of silence, Hinata merely started laughing so hard she started choking, bring Yiro running from another room, 

“Hinata-sama! Hinata-sama!” He skidded to a halt beside her and slapped a hand on her back, which had apparently been enough to dislodge whatever morsel of food which had clogged in the heir’s throat, 

“Tha-thank you, Yiro, I’m—I’m all right,” She panted slightly, 

“Are you okay?” Ino shuffled around the table, Hinata nodded,

“Yes, I’m fine, I just took a bite at the wrong time.” She nodded to Yiro who reluctantly rose to his feet, “I really wish we’d been friends as teenagers, Ino, you could have taught me the confidence I needed a long time ago!” 

Ino smiled in return, “I doubt you would have liked me much as a teenager, I didn’t. I think it’s much better as we are now.”

Hinata thought for a moment as she and Ino looked at each other, “Yes, I think you’re right.”

 

* * *

 

Naruto let out a deep breath and opened his eyes, feeling the sage energy flow through him like cool water; he rose to his feet and looked around, the ground before him was empty save for the long grass swaying gently in the steady breeze. He could feel her energy and her presence and looked around slowly for her; she’d made no real attempt to hide, stood to his rear several paces away. Her own sage energy wafting off of her like steam from a hot spring, the only tell of what enormous power lay within: a silent threat to those which might disturb it. As soon as he set eyes on her, however, a bubble of laugher rose up from within him until it exploded as a guffaw,

“Hahaha you really  _do_  get the eye stalks! Hahahah! Can you see out of them? Do you have four eyes now?”

“Naruto! Take this seriously!” Sakura barked before unleashing a barrage of shuriken which Naruto easily dodged, still laughing at Sakura, who merely rolled her eyes and ran at him. They exchanged a few kicks and punches for a few moments until Naruto created his clones and this fight began proper; Sakura seamlessly fought them off, absorbing and redirecting the clones’ chakra and physical force back on themselves until they exploded into dust. Naruto’s own sage energy seemed to have met its match with Sakura’s for every attack he threw, Sakura was able to dodge and return the energy back to him, which his own gathered energy protected him from. Chakra seemed of little use, any ninjutsu they could think of to throw at each other became laughable attacks with their heightened perceptions and reflexes. They quickly reached a stalemate, even as their natural energies failed them and they continued the fight with little more than their fists, their waning chakra and ill tempers. 

“What the hell? Why is it like fighting a mirror?” Naruto eventually managed through his panting as he leapt back a few spaces to create some distance, “If you’re only absorbing the chakra and returning it to me, it’s, it’s—”

“I know,” Sakura cut him off, “Our energies are different but they still come from the same source… so doesn’t it sort of make sense that we’re evenly matched? But I didn’t expect it to be like this, it’s like we’re not even really fighting.”

“It wasn’t like this with Fukusaku; that felt like a normal fight.” 

“Wasn’t like it with Mageruko-sama, either…”

“Well, that’s at least given us some idea of your respective power levels, let’s take a break for now and review.” Kakashi wandered over, a stubborn line embedded in his brow visible even from beneath his large bandage over his left eye, “You are surprisingly evenly matched, but you’ll be fighting a near-literal goddess, who has an enormous source of chakra at her fingertips—”

“So?” Naruto argued back, “We  _know_  who we’re fighting, we fought her before—Oh! Kakashi! How did the surgery go? Are you okay?”

“Hai, I’m fine, I’m just resting it for today.”

“She’s familiar with sage energy, hell she could even have access to that energy herself for all we know.” Sakura offered, redirecting the conversation before taking a long drink from her water bottle, her eyes fixed on Kakashi.

“Right. It will be you two against her, the rest of us will be pretty much useless in this fight. We need to focus on how to use your energies effectively  _together_. Can you combine attacks?”

“But Sakura can’t use rasengan.”

“That isn’t what he means, Naruto… and… I don’t think chakra will help us here, she’s going to be near the tree, isn’t she? And you remember how attracted it was to our chakras?” Sakura said,

“Yeah! But it didn’t seem affected by my sage mode!” 

“Right, so you two need to find an attack that can effectively take out both the tree and Otsutsuki.” Kakashi spoke calmly though there was certainly an undercurrent of tension in his voice, 

“Naruto, do you still have the ability to utilise chakra from Kurama, in the way you did at the climax of the war?”

“Um, I think so, but Kurama is still gathering his chakra and it’s really hard to get him to even talk to me.” Naruto said, eliciting a quiet though frustrated sigh from Kakashi; the Naruto described the Nine Tails always made it sound as if he was merely living with a strong but grouchy housemate rather than a sealed mass of living chakra within him. 

“Yo, yo, Nine Tails ain’t looking so hot but that slug lady know’s what’s what!” The obnoxious voice of Killa Bee interrupted the moment,

“Octodude!” Naruto yelled, his eyes sparkling like mercury, “You finally woke up! What took you so long?”

“Ay-yo, I had to let the hachibi sleep, fightin’ that long haired crazy biyatchi took a lot out of my boy Hatchi.”

“Eh?” Naruto replied, 

“He means Madara,” Sakura replied, “Are you here to help us train?”

“Yeah, yeah! Kakashi asked me to help you guys out and I could use the work out!” Kill Bee replied enthusiastically, Sakura could only assume he’d intended his words to rhyme.

“Perhaps a good place to start would be getting Naruto to access Kurama again; Sakura, you and I will work on genjutsu.” Kakashi helpfully interjected,  


“Genjutsu?” Sakura queried, walking over to Kakashi, 

“I agree it’s unlikely she will attempt such a technique given her power, but we don’t know what control she still has over the tree or if she can make it bloom again; Naruto had Kurama to break any genjutsu, but its wise if we test how your sage mode might be disrupted by it.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?” Sakura asked, glancing over his bandage, “I’m not sure you should even be out of bed.”

“Sakura, I assure you I am fine, the eye doesn’t hurt and Tsunade performed the surgery quite easily. Besides, casting a genjutsu doesn’t require much chakra. I promise not to over exert myself.”

 

* * *

 

“Ino, you’re here, good.” Tsunade said without even look up as Ino stepped into her office, “How are you feeling? Any headaches ordisorientation… beyond what could be reasonably expected, given the current state of the village.”

“No, Tsunade-sama.”

“Good. How’s your medical ninjutu? Did you practice as a medic in the Tsukikomi?”

“No, I worked with Ibiki-sampai in Intel.”

“Really?” Tsunade put her pen down and touched her hands together, “With Inoichi?”

Ino shook her head, “No, I dreamed that he’d died and Ibiki trained me to take his place.”

“Did you like working there?”

“Hai, it sort of felt like… I’d been preparing for it my whole life.”

“Oh?”

“People always looked at me and saw me as some frivolous gossip, but there was next to nothing I didn’t know about the Konoha 11 or the jounin who were considered to be our senseis before I even took my graduation exam. Gossip is a powerful currency and all those traits I was ridiculed and dismissed for as child were almost exactly the ones a shinobi village relies upon to be successful.”

“True.” Tsunade simply responded, “You want to restart the Intel department one we’ve dealt with Otsutsuki?”

“Yes, I would… assuming we can actually defeat her, how is Naruto and Sakura’s training going?”

“They’re sparring now but they’ve only got two weeks to sort out the kinks, the longer we hesitate, the longer she has to plan a counter. But for this mission specifically, I will need you on medic duty, Sakura will be needed specifically to help defeat Otsutsuki and so we will be acting on the assumption that she cannot provide any medical aid.”

“I understand Tsunade-sama, I will practice until we’re ready to deploy, that will be some time next week, I assume?”

“Yes, but I will holding a briefing early next week to run over final plans with everyone who will be going. But in the mean time, your Shitenshin jutsu works on non-humans and non-shinobi, doesn’t it?”

“Hai, Tsunade-sama,”

“Would it work on Zetsu?”

“Zetsu? You mean that—”

“Yes him, he’s been hanging around, helping us, though we can’t say with any real certainty if he’s on our side or not.”

“Hmm,” Ino hummed a note, though whether it was one in intrigue, distrust or simple acknowledgement, even Ino wasn’t quite certain. “You want me to look inside his mind if he shows up again?”

“Yes, potentially Otsutsuki too, if you’re able. Does the power of your target have an impact on you or the technique?”

“I’m not certain, to tell you the truth, whenever I’ve used the technique on missions it’s usually been directed at a low level target for reconnaissance purposes and even at the Intel department, we were rarely lucky enough to have powerful detainees and even so, the jutsu was slightly different and we worked in groups.”

“Hmm, care the speculate?” Tsunade asked patiently and Ino thought back over everything she knew about her clan jutsu,

“I can’t speak with any certainty, but since our jutsu only relies on the user’s chakra and not of the target I don’t see that it should present much of a problem, I’ve taken over animals’ minds before… the only issue might be whether Zetsu actually  _has_  a mind of his own and isn’t some sort of kage bunshin.”

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, “That is something to consider, nonetheless we’ll proceed as if white and black Zetsu and Otsutsuki have real bodies and are entities unto themselves for now.”

“Understood Tsunade-sama.”

“You’ll probably have had a lot of muscle wastage from the time spent under the Tsukikomi, but I can’t afford the time to let you get back to full strength, I’m afraid.”

“I understand, I’ll target my training.”

“Start with the medical side of things since that might well become most urgent, Shizune’s at the hospital.”

“Hai, Tsunade-sama.”

“Dismissed.”

 

Ino was back out onto the street in a few moments, the sight of so many foreign shinobi milling about the streets and conducting repairs was still a strange sight, but the oddness of it seemed to reaffirm to Ino that she was, in fact, now facing reality. 

“Long time no see,” Shikamaru fell into step beside her and Chouji the other,

“Shika! Chouji!” Ino exclaimed, “How are you both? How’s everything been going since you were awoken?”

“Ah, busy and tiring, we have meetings all the time and all the kage’s arguing over what needs to be done and who should take the lead… it stresses me out.”

“Hahaha,” Ino laughed genially, “I’m glad to be back with the real Shikamaru.”

“Eh?”

“There was a facsimile of you in the Tsukikomi after you’d been awoken.”

“How long’d it take you realise?” He grinned, 

“Not long, your brand of laziness, Shika, is apparently hard to replicate.”  


“I was annoyed they took so long to wake you up,” Chouji said, 

“Well, I suppose I was valuable intel at the time, it was amazing to see the difference in you, Chouji, once I knew what was going on when you showed up to a training session one day and were completely different.” 

“You noticed?”

“Yeah.”

“You two trained together?” Shikamaru asked, 

“Uh-huh, with Gai,”

“Gai?”  


“Yup, a criminally underrated sensei, if you ask me. But we should train together later, we’ll need a good InoShikaChou formation, but I’ve got to work with Shizune-sampai in the meantime, how about later this evening?”

“Sure, you’re staying with Hinata now, right? We’ll stop by later. How’s the house-sharing thing going, anyway? Hinata’s changed a bit.” 

“Tell me about it, I am loving this new confident Hinata! And she’s actually very good company, I like spending time with her but I really wish I had my old apartment and own space back, feels kinda weird living in someone else’s house, you know?”

“Yeah, I know the feeling… no offence Shikamaru.” Chouji agreed a breath of laughter in his voice, “His compound mostly survived, but mine didn’t.”

“I’m sorry, Chou.” Ino said though the Akimichi merely shrugged, 

“We’re both on rebuild up duty for today, so we’ll get started on you apartment as soon as we can, okay?” Chouji offered and Shikamaru nodded with a broad grin,

“Really? You guys are the best!”All three shared smiles that told of how clearly pleased they were to be back together.

 

* * *

 

 The near two weeks had passed swiftly and Tsunade stood sombrely in her dark office overlooking the village, everything that could be done, had been: training, planning, briefing. The only thing left was to wait for dawn. At best estimate it would be a four day journey back to the tree, assuming no hold ups and the party was fit enough to maintain their speed. It was hardly ideal circumstances, though war rarely was, especially when one was on the defending team. Naruto, Sakura, Killa Bee and Kakashi had developed a good formation and worked well together. Kakashi himself had adapted well to his new eye, though it had certainly proved a far greater drain on him than the sharingan had but by the same token, had afforded him ten times the power. The shinobi were hungry for retribution and all seemed to have dedicated themselves tenfold since Sakura’s return and the spark of real hope she’d brought with her had proven a powerful motivator. Tsunade was proud and hopeful but quietly uneasy; even with the disposal of the entire shinobi forces and Naruto and Sasuke, they had still failed to defeat Otsutsuki once and here they were trying again with barely half the resources, strength or intel.

So much could go wrong, there was everything to lose and what they might be able to win back, might still take years of rebuilding for it to again have any resemblance of the world they were fighting for. In the cool darkness of her office, Tsunade felt her age, she felt the weight of what had been lost, she’d peeked beyond the veil and seen a sweet dream calling back to her. It was as beyond her grasp as it was a false positive: no amount of wishing would see her return to it and nor could she be happy if she did. Many had oft thought that shinobi were cursed to live long, hard eras and for whom happiness was not meant to truly reach. It was a sentiment Tsunade had often rebuffed, such negativity was neither useful nor healthy, yet at every turn things seemed determined to prove it right; perhaps it was more that shinobi went in search of death and danger and often times it found them.

Only this search toward death and danger was a noble one, what good would it be for them to continue living like cockroaches just out of sight of a malicious goddess, snatching at their survival one moment to another whilst others lay trussed in her clutches? These clever and noble cockroaches would rise and fight and see to it that there was  _another way._

..

.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n - I am aiming to finish Hakujitsumu for this year's NaNoWriMo, though I am off to a sorry start having injured my back making sitting, standing and walking painful T.T but I will endeavour to focus on this story and get chapters out more quickly!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned guys, there will be a lot of perspective changes through this chapter and they won’t necessarily be separated by page breaks or anything similar (other than a new paragraph) they should all dovetail together well enough but, hopefully it won’t be too confusing to read! Also: Super-speedy update no jutsu! Whoop! 

Just outside of central battlefield, where the tree branches were at their thickest and most responsive to the slightest trace of chakra was where they halted, just shy of six days worth of travel had finally brought them back to the battleground. The chakra tree still stood tall and proud though not in bloom; the Mother was not quite in sight just yet, though they were certain she was there. 

“Hinata, what can you see?” Kakashi asked, the Hyuuga activated her Byakugan and looked carefully around, for what felt like a long, painfully quiet time Hinata observed, 

“I see her, she is approximately two kilometres northwest of us, she is sitting still, Black Zetsu is still with her and there is no movement around her.”

“Okay, is she near anything that might obstruct us? Anything that she might use against us, or that we could use against her?” Kakashi asked, 

“Other than the branches of the tree and surrounding rocks, no.” 

“We will proceed with the plan as discussed, Naruto and Sakura you move first, then Killa Bee and I will move in; remember  _not to draw any attention_ , the element of surprise is crucial here. Don’t get over excited, Naruto.”

“I know.” The blonde nodded firmly, 

“Everyone else I want you to be ready, we still do not know for certain if the Mother draws strength from the tree or can be healed by it, not to mention the fact that we cannot get close to it without risking being caught. Your priority is to remain free from the Tree, do not risk getting recaptured by it, understood?” Kakashi reiterated, receiving a chorus of agreements by the shinobi; everyone had already been briefed by Tsunade and Kakashi before they’d left Konoha but he thought it prudent to restate it. “One more thing, do not let Otsutsuki separate us between dimensions, I don’t have the chakra to cross the dimensions with my rinnegan so if she separates us, we might never find our way back. Gaara-sama and A-sama if I can ask you to direct the rear party.” Kakashi added, seeing their grave nods in return, “Now you two activate your sage mode, we’ll move as soon as you’re ready.” 

“Hi there! Gettin’ ready for a fight?” Zetsu suddenly appeared from the ground between Kakashi and the rest of the group,

“Holy shit!” Naruto and a handful of others flinched at the sudden appearance, “What the fuck, dude?”

“I was gonna help you guys!” He replied pitifully, “But you left without me!”

“Zetsu, you disappeared and we had no way of contacting you.” Kakashi replied, irritated by the surprise, “What help can you be to us here?”

“Well, I can tell you where my other half is… and fight him.”

“That’s something,” Kakashi agreed, under other circumstances he would have loved to banish the irritating creature, but now was hardly the time for delays or derailments. “Zetsu you go in with Naruto and Sakura and you go straight for Black Zetsu, keep him busy and preferably separated from the Mother for as long as possible.” 

“Oki-dokie! Just say the word!” Zetsu saluted; Kakashi looked over to Naruto and Sakura, both of whom were in their sage forms, 

“Ready?” He asked and they both nodded, “Then go, we’ll be right behind you. Killa Bee, are you and the Hachibi ready?”

“As always, Muthafucker! We itchin’ for a fight and she’s got no chance, that sucka.”

“Then go!” Kakashi commanded and lifted his headband to watch through his rinnegan as his two former students darted away, through the rubble and debris, a few of the tree’s branches flicked and searched for the echoes which they thought they could sense, but none made contact and the two were through in mere moments. 

“Naruto! Create a clone and send it in with me, I’ll engage her first and try to throw her off balance, then you come in after, okay?” Sakura hissed to him, he didn’t reply, but created a clone before dropping off to the side; Sakura was seconds from striking her target but white Zetsu sudden popped up from the earth right in front of the apparently meditating Otsutsuki,   


“Uh… hi! How ya doin’? Kinda quiet round here, isn’t it?” He grinned idiotically at her, though the only response she gave was was to open her pale eyes; Black Zetsu, on the other hand appeared from her sleeve, 

“You idiot! Where have you been? And what are you doing?”

“Um… talking to you?”

“Go away! You're useless now!” 

“No! I don’t want to!” Zetsu petulantly replied before darting forwards, straight at Black Zetsu and into Otsutsuki’s sleeve, where they fought in a great whirl of movement, like two brawling cats, making the Mother’s haori dance and wiggle in a failed comedic reprise. The Mother discarded her haori in a single fluid motion, with both of the struggling Zetsus still inside and that was when Sakura chose her moment to attack. Naruto’s clone went in first, just left of her field of vision and drew her attention first, Sakura was barely a millisecond behind him but to her right. The Mother dodged to the right, but was not to easy to fool with her activated byakugan and seamlessly evaded Sakura’s attack, which instead barrelled into Naruto and exploded the clone. 

“You two again.” She spoke calmly, “How is it that you escaped the Infinite Tsukikomi?”

“It doesn’t matter, we’re here now!” Sakura span on her heel, driving a roundhouse kick towards her, they parried and spared for a moment, but it didn’t take long for the Mother to bring out her signature move and as Sakura came crashing down, intent upon striking the Mother, a portal opened up ready to swallow Sakura whole. A flash of yellow caught her, just in time, pushing her out of the way of the inter-dimensional abyss.

“Thanks, Naruto.” 

“What should we do now? We’ve gotta weaken her to give Kakashi and Bee a chance.” He asked, she could feel the pressure from his fully golden-chakra covered body stood beside her,  


“I know, but what?” Sakura asked, 

“Let’s just pummel her, I’ll create a bunch of clones to protect us from the portals.” Naruto formed the handseals and ten or so clones appeared, surrounding Otsutsuki; one exploded into a cloud of dust almost immediately as an unnaturally dark flash shot towards the Mother, 

“You cannot defeat her… you lost once, remember? You’ll lose again!” Black Zetsu snarled from where it lingered under the shows of the Mother’s arm. Naruto and Sakura shared a glance between them, the first job was to separate the parasite Black Zetsu from Otsutsuki. 

Naruto went in first this time, or rather his shuriken did, only for it to be swallowed by a dimension but thankfully the one in it’s blindspot did not and it shot towards the Mother; she dodged easily, but the shuriken wasn’t done just yet. It transformed back into Naruto and threw three kibakufuda laden kunai back at her. Naruto always did have uncommonly good battle-sense, given that he was something of an idiot, but even Naruto was not so practiced at dealing with a byakugan. The Mother’s vision was far too sharp to fall for such a trick and again she dodged. But when she landed, so opened her third eye and Naruto found himself starting straight into the blood red, tomoe filled eye;

“Papa? What are we doing out here?” A childish voice caught his attention; Naruto felt frozen in that moment for he knew that voice and he slowly turned almost terrified of what he might see. There stood his little boy, with unruly, spiky black hair and bright blue eyes staring up at him as if he’d been stood there all along. His clothes and little wrinkled and grubby as often they were whenever Iruka claimed he’d been “shurniken training”, the boy still stumbled over his ‘Rs’ an ‘URs’.  _No… NO his boy was gone, this is just a genjutsu! Like the one Itachi used on me ages ago! Snap out of it! Kurama help!!_  Naruto snapped his eyes shut and called out to the nine tails… even though he wanted nothing more than to get a look at his son just for one last time. 

 

“Naruto! What are you doing? Why are you faltering? Gyah.” Sakura cursed as she darted forwards, hurling a volley of kunai and shuriken at her enemy before opening the ground with her fist in an attempt to destabilise her. But the Mother was still too quick and avoided the crevasse moments before it tore through the ground. 

“Mama? What are you doing?” A sudden pressure on Sakura’s leg had her pause and suddenly she was staring down into the bright green eyes of her daughter clutching at her leg,

“M-Misaki? What? You can’t be here… you don’t exist.” Sakura replied unable to tear her eyes away even as she wanted the familiar green eyes well with tears, 

“Why would you say that? Don’t you love me? What did I do?”

Naruto shook his head clear of the genjutsu, feeling the fatigue as Kurama fought against the strength of the rinne-sharingan’s jutsu, “Sakura! It’s just a genjutsu! Snap out of it!” He shouted, struggling to knead his chakra into a ninjutsu without interfering with Kurama’s disruption. Before he could move, an enormous tentacle shot out of nowhere and swiped at the Mother, grabbing her around the chest, the force was enough to rip off the attached Black Zetsu, but the Mother would not be held so easily. She opened another dimension cutting off the arm of the tentacle and slipped out of the grasp. Naruto heard Sakura gasp just as he felt the tension on himself release and assumed that the genjutsu must have been broken, he wasted no time in redoubling his efforts, aware now that Killa Bee and Kakashi must be close by. Every second they wasted was a second in Otsutsuki's and the Tree's favour.

 

 

Hinata might have been well out of the way of the battle ground, but that did not mean she wasn’t paying attention, her gifted eyes saw through the dust and confusion generated by the shinobi all battling the tree (and the Raikage, who seemed to be enjoying punching through every tree branch he was able). Eventually, they settled on the unnaturally black blob which zoomed between the fighters and leached between the cracks of the earth, making its way over towards the tree. Hinata was on her feet and away in seconds, ignoring Ino’s surprised cry of her name; her eyes allowed her to see the reactions of the malicious branches, as if her eyes had allowed her the insight akin to that of the sharingan. She darted and weaved between the branches, so intent on her goal that no interruption could distract her; her chakra channelled ready to her hands. 

The moment she was within reached, she span, almost of her pure will through the air, her hands jabbing at the black blob that had only half a second prior touched the trunk of the tree itself. The creature might not have human form, but it very clearly had some source of chakra and that was what she aimed for, her chakra charged fingertips stabbing at the opening points eight times, crushing it into the bark of the tree but she did not stop: sixteen, thirty two and by the sixty-fourth hit, the thing that had been called Zetsu was no more and along with it, the bark of the tree split open fracturing the entire diameter of the trunk. Great shards of wood splintered, firing out radially at the near mile high tree swayed in the unnatural slow motion large masses tended toward: so subtle was its movement that no one noticed it, at first, not even Hinata who could focus on nothing save the mangled remains of Zetsu trapped in that endless moment. The tree swayed dangerously, its reign no more; two large splinters snapped off and struck Hinata before she was even aware that she’d hit the tree at all and she fell. 

Someone grabbed her and carried her away, though she was barely conscious of who or how, blinded as she was by the pain of a three metre shard of wood piercing her midriff and another through her shoulder. “It’s okay, Hinata, I’ve got you, hang on!” Ino said as she darted away, hurrying to get her to the ground, but with her next footfall didn’t make contact with anything she could see, as aware as she suddenly was of the sand suddenly growing beneath her feet, 

“Gaara-sama!”

“Just hang on,” He replied, seemingly effortlessly dodging them through the falling depris and writhing tendrils of the dying tree. Shikamaru and Chouji flanked her as Chouji grew in size in an instant, to his absolute maximum, with just enough time to throw his fist forwards and blasting away the tree trunk, just managing to prevent it from falling on the battlefield, or crushing those still bound by it. 

“Shikamaru! Give me a hand here!” Ino shouted as she lay Hinata down on the first bit of flat ground she could find, 

“What? Oh shit!” Shikamaru skidded to a halt beside the two, “What do I need to do?”  


“I’ll control the bleeding, I need you to pull the wood out of her,”

“Are you sure? Isn’t that more dangerous?—”

“Shut up and get ready,” Ino’s hand glowed a bright green as she lay them either side of Hinata’s worst wound, “Okay, pull it slowly and steadily, try not to jerk it.”

“Okay,” Shikamaru pushed his sleeves up and took a hold of the ugly, blood-soaked shaft, Hinata squeaked in pain at even the touch, “Sorry Hinata.” He mumbled and slowly pulled, 

“Ino! In—fuck!” Chouji appeared, 

“Chou, go get me Shizune! Now!” 

“H-Hai!” He darted away again just as fast,

“That’s good, Shikamaru, keep going.” She said, focusing her chakra on tackling the blood vessels and organs, rather than on healing the tissue, silently praying that Shizune would not be long.

 

 

Naruto almost felt the change in the Mother, he didn’t know what had just happened, but she faltered as if she’d been hit and sluggishly tried to avoid Naruto’s incoming strike. But she didn’t and his bijuu-dama hit its mark catching everyone by surprise. Only Kakashi had the presence of mind not to let the opportunity slip away and he darted from his position, his rinnegan wide open and beginning to tear with blood at the effort he was pouring in to his handseals to create his chidori as he darted over towards the Mother — he’d need ten seconds to get to her, but ten seconds was a good as an eternity here.With only one rinnegan and no Uchiha blood he couldn’t create a shadow-self, to give him a barrier of protection, what had Sasuke called it? Limbo? Kakashi had only himself and his will to return home. As always.But Kakashi was not so alone, as he ran, the long tentacles of the Hachibi stretched above him, speeding towards the Mother and were upon her in a moment. The movement caught her attention and brought her back to the present, as she created a void in front of herself sending the tentacles off to who knows where. 

Seven seconds.

The moment of distraction afforded by Killa Bee had given Sakura time to strike, as she leapt towards the Mother, her chakra charged fist aiming right towards her head, though the Mother clearly remembered this from times past and ducked and waved out of the way, each punch and kick narrowly missing its mark. But another sagely Sakura appeared and another and still ten more until every avenue was closed and Otsutsuki was forced to fight back, her own punch exploding the first clone into a cloud of dust and a further three as she realised she was battle little more than shadows.

Three seconds.

Otsutsuki seemed to have gained her confidence in striking at the clones as she struck each one harder and harder, her ability to travel inter-dimensionally had either been forgotten or she was unable to use it; but the attacking nin chose not to look their gift horse in the mouth for the Mother finally found the real Sakura, who absorbed all of the force Otsutsuki had piled upon her and fed it right back through to the Mother’s body: her strength was to be the thing which brought about her downfall. The sheer force of the strike and the chakra running through it had been enough to know Otsutsuk off her feet, backwards into the path of Kakashi, who’s crackling, chakra charged hand dove through her chest and exploded her heart.

“All right, Kakashi!! Yeah! You got her! Whoo-hoo!” Naruto instantly cheered, though Kakashi paid him no mind; he kept his jutsu, his hand still crackling with chakra as it burned and cauterised the flesh of Otsutsuki, ignoring his own fatigue. Some part of him would not be satisfied she was dead until all that remained was ash. Though his rinnegan told him that she had no chakra of her own, and his fingers could feel no pulse.

“Kakashi!” Sakura appeared at his side, “What’s the problem? Is she dead?”

“Yes… she is… but she’d been dead before.” Kakashi replied as he finally pulled his hand free and allow her body to drop to the floor in a crumpled, blood-soaked heap; he dropped almost as quickly down to his knees, finally realising his exhaustion.

“Ay-yo, my man Sharingan Kakashi upgraded to a rinnegan and we see his power really luminesce so much he can beat a literal goddess!” The voice of Killa Bee shouted as he hurried over, grinning ear to ear, “See? We didn’t need no Uchiha muthafucker, ya destiny’s only what ya make it.”

“Yeah! Kakashi is the best!” Naruto cheered, “Hey, where’s everyone else? Do they know we beat her yet?” His words suddenly drew attention to the quiet that surrounded them, 

“What’s going on? Where’s the tree?” Sakura asked, "It's not attacking us, either."

“Eh? You’re right, the tree’s gone!” Sakura interjected, her sage mode failing as her concentration faltered, 

“You’re right and there’s movement over there, too, but I can’t really see what it is.” Naruto agreed.

“Let’s move and investigate.” Kakashi said, but not before he pulled out a scroll from his flack jacket and sealed the Kaguya’s corpse into it. But that final burst of chakra had been the straw to break the camel's back and his vision blurred, his limbs slackened and he collapsed.

“Kakashi!”

 

 

“Shizune-san! Shizune-san!” Chouji shouted as he skidded to a halt beside her, 

“What?” She asked back, still tending to a bleeding Kumogakure ninja, 

“It’s Hinata, she’s been badly hurt, Ino needs your help!” 

“Just give me thirty seconds, Chouji and I’ll be right there.” Shizune replied whilst she kept her chakra steady, the Kumo nin wasn’t in big trouble, but he soon would be if she didn’t stop the bleed. The flesh finally knitted back together cleanly and Shizune wiped the area clean of the dried blood, “Okay, show me to Hinata.” Chouji nodded and darted off, closely followed by her, as they ran her attention was drawn, initially by the clear horizon, “Where’s the tree gone?”

“Hinata cut it down.”

“What?”

“I don’t know what she was doing, but it fell.” Chouji rather poorly explained, though Shizune was no longer listening, as she could see now how every cocoon was begin to wiggle and writhe as the people inside had awoken, all of them, at the same time. 

“Shizune-san! Thank kami-sama you’re here,” Shikamaru said from where he was leaning over a bloody Hinata, 

“What happened?” She barked, 

“The tree splintered and struck Hinata in the abdomen and the shoulder,” Ino replied without looking up, Shizune gathered her chakra to her hands placed them carefully on Hinata, feeling the extent of the damage, 

“Okay, you’ve done well closing off the major blood vessels, let me take over here to fully stop the bleeding, start looking for any remaining splinters and try to draw them out.”

“Hai.” Ino replied and Shikamaru shuffled out of the way, only just looking up and noticing the movement around him, 

“What the hell is going on?” 

“I-I think they’re all waking up.” Chouji replied, as both the nin only started at all of the comatose people now wiggling and writhing in their bandage-like coverings, “Do think we should help them? Or will that only cause more problems?”

“I dunno, but I guess we can’t leave them in there.” Shikamaru replied, trying to hide just how unnerving he was finding the scene, like watching hundreds of corpses spontaneously reanimate. Chouji, however, was seemingly less concerned as he hurried over to the nearest entombed person, tore away the slimy casing and helped them sit up, 

“Hey, don’t worry! You were under the Infinite Tsukikomi, but you’re free now.” He said, hurriedly but gently, 

“Wh—arrrgh!! My back!” It was Oonoki, the Tsuchikage, “Don’t be so rough! You young whippersnappers are all in such a rush! Now start from the top, I was just in Iwagakure! Enjoying my retirement with my granddaughter!”

“I know it’s a shock, Tsuchikage-sama, but you really have been under the Infinite Tsukikomi, we all have been, but Naruto and Sakura and the others are fighting the Mother right now, we should win this time.” Chouji tried to explain, aware as he was of everyone else waking up, 

“What?” Oonoki merely asked again, his eyebrows jammed stubbornly downwards, 

“I’m sorry Tsuchikage-sama,” Shikamaru interrupted, “But we need to help everyone else; Chouji.” He called and they both walked away,“Just a quick explanation, Chou, we can’t afford to get bogged down pandering to some grouchy old man when we have this many people to deal with.”

“Oi! I heard that!” Oonoki shouted back, though the two ignored him and pressed on.

 

 

“Shizune! What’s happening?” Sakura landed beside her gently dropping Kakashi down to the ground, taking in the worrying scene around her, where she and Ino were still couched over Hinata, 

“Hinata took down the tree, but she’s injured. Everyone’s waking up from the Infinite Tsukikomi.” Ino hurriedly explained, as Naruto and Killa Bee all looked around the immediate vicinity at the hundreds of people all slowly writhing their way out of their bindings and loudly complaining at a situation they did not understand. The other nin were helping to awaken everyone as well as attempting to control the ever increasing crowd.

“Naruto, Sakura!” Shikamaru called out as he dropped down beside them, 

“Shikamaru?”

“Everyone’s waking up, we think it’s because Hinata took down the chakra tree, we’re doing our best to help everyone but…” He trailed off slightly, his unspoken  _what the hell?_  was clear, “But I think we need to get everyone organised, find the highest ranking shinobi and bring them to me, Killa Bee if you can find all of the Kumo—” Shika’s words were cut off,

“Another whippernsnapper, White Fang’s brat, is he Hokage yet or what?” Oonoki slowly pushed himself to his feet, eyeing the unconscious form of Kakashi warily,

“Ah, Tsuchikage-sama, I didn’t notice you there.” Shikamaru replied, before giving a brief nod to Killa Bee who didn’t need any more prompting to flee the scene rather than get caught in another infamous tirade by the Tsuchikage.

“Well I am, now what exactly is going on?”

“We were all caught in the Infinite Tsukikomi, during the war, approximately seven and a half months ago, I and several others were awoken by Sasuke approximately six months ago and only now have we been able to stage a counterstrike at the Otsutsuki, whom we have now defeated.” Shikamaru quickly explained,

“You really did it?” Ino butted in, 

“Hai, she is dead, she faltered half way through and seemed to lose some of her powers, for that I am assuming we have Hinata to thank.” Sakura replied,

“All right, so why have I only just been woken up now? You think I was too old to be of any use?”

“Iee, Tsuchikage-sama, we had limited time and we did not know where everyone individually was being held.”

“Hmph,” The Tsuchikage grunted in what Shikamaru assumed was reluctant understanding, “Where are all my Iwa nin?”

“We aren’t sure yet, but as soon as everyone is on their feet, we can begin organising them.”

 

“Okay,” Shizune said as she leant back, “Hinata is stable for now, though I would like to get her back to Konoha as quickly as possible incase she develops any sign of infection.”  

“Shizune, you, Ino and Chouji take Hinata and Kakashi back to Konoha; I’ll need Sakura with me. Please inform Tsunade-sama of our victory and that I will be remaining here until the awoken ninja had been organised.”

“Agreed, Shikamaru… good luck.” Shizune was on her feet, and hurried away to gather her supplies ready to leave. It didn’t take long for Killa Bee to return with a handful of senior shinobi along with Gaara, A, and the Mizukage, 

“Kages, have you accounted for all of your respective shinobi?” Shikamaru addressed the group, received nods in reply, “I assume that you all wish to return to your home villages and begin repairs and rebuilding.” 

“Yes, there will also be the civilian populations - which I think is safe to assume they too have all woken up with the Tree's fall - which need to be considered. They’re likely to be confused and food and accommodation issues with only exacerbate the problem.” Gaara added, “I will return to Suna with my forces, though I will remain in contact with Konoha.” 

Shikamaru nodded in understanding, “Raikage, what will you do?”

“The same, now is a bad time for Kumogakure to be without its leadership; you have our gratitude, Konoha.”

 

* * *

  

Battou was such an old man now, he’d been only thirty a day ago and fighting nobly for his home village of Rock, strong and proud and powerful, brimming with chakra and ninjutsu. But his reality changed in an instant when someone had peeled the slimy bandages off him and pulled him awkwardly to his feet; he felt the stiffness in his back and the wrinkles on his hands and remembered the seventy year old man that he was. One who’d never shown any talent for ninjutsu and barely able to throw a rock in a straight line. He’d never managed to enter the academy and had been forced to follow his father as a small business owner, belittled and ignored by the shinobi he admired so much.  

Now, as he sat in the rubble of his old shop, no home, no business and the sour taste of false memories bitter on his tongue; the tarnished key of his old shop sat on the palm of his hand. He could not go back and the only thing that awaited him in the present was destruction and desolation, amid the panicked and aggressive shouts of the civilian population. He felt the anger burn hot in his chest, gathering and gathering until it shot down his arm and into his hand; hotter and hotter it grew until the edges of the key grew blurred with denaturing. It wasn’t until a clear lick of flame danced upward that Battou realised something odd was happening, he pulled his hand back in surprise and the key dropped to the floor with a muted  _thunk,_  its edges continuing to melt and flow out onto the dusty floor. 

.

_Where is Mama? Where is Papa?_  Hana thought desperately, her eyes straining to look around in every direction, she been covered by some weird, wet plant when she’d woken up — but she’d just been Obaachan, and she’d been learning how to make moon-pies, hadn’t she? It was going to be the autumn full moon tomorrow, but all of the trees has no leaves and the air was cold… so it was now winter?  _I’m so scared… where is Mama?_  Hana crouched down near the branch she woken up next to, hoping to block out some of the breeze; her vision began to blur as she felt the weight of her loneliness.

“Hana!” A sudden shout drew her attention, “Hana!” It was Mama! Hana sprang to her feet and charged away, following the shouts, she paid no mind to where she was treading, her only thought was to run and find her mother.Eventually she found herself on the banks of the wide, torrenting Mizu river, 

“Hana! There you are! Stay there, I’m coming to get you!” 

“Papa!” She called back across, seeing her parents on the other side, she hesitated for a moment, but the fear of being alone was too powerful a motivator and she charged forwards, her feet easily finding grip on the water’s surface as she ran as fast as she was able across the surface and was within their arms in moments.

“Hana? How? How did you run across the water?”

“Are you safe? Are you hurt?” Her father and mother asked at the same time,

“I don’t know, I just wanted to get here.”

.

“But where are all of the other shinobi? Why is the village still wrecked up?” 

“How do you think you can explain how everything was perfectly fine just yesterday? A few hours ago, even? But apparently we were just  _asleep_? What kind of idiots do you take us for?” Another voice shouted from the crowd, garnering murmurs of anger and frustration from the rabble gathered in her office;

“Please remain calm,” Tsunade called, rueing the loss of Shizune: despite appearances, she really knew how to handle and angry mob, “As I was trying to explain, you were all captured under the Infinite Tsukikomi, which held us all in a dream-state and allowed us to view what we wanted. Myself and a handful of other shinobi were woken up less than two months ago and that party are all away fighting the enemy. Give that you are all awake now, I can only assume that means that they were successful. The village is in such poor state because there had been no one to tend to it, we have done our best with limited time and resources, but we will need your help to allow us to return the village back to its former sate.”Tsunade spoke loudly, but with patience, she was well acquainted with the anger inducing frustration that being awoken brought with it. The angry muttering died down from most, save the elderly woman at the front — the rabble rouser, herself — Tsunade suspected, Shiaki had always been trouble. 

“Hokage-sama, that explanation is not acceptable! We have no food, no accommodation and all of the shinobi who are supposed to help us, you’ve sent off on some fool-hardy war that you lost the first time?”

“And what would you rather we did do? Leave you all forever in a dream world?”

The elderly woman shot Tsunade a look of contempt that only the elderly could perfect, “I would think you’d have the sense not to wake us up until everything was ready!”

“Ready?” Tsunade barked back, “You think Konoha is just one big hotel for you? And you think that the seven of us shinobi left in Konoha had the ability to wake up every single civilian simultaneously? You are all also a part of Konoha and we need you to help us rebuild and repair!” 

“C’mon, Shiaki-san, she hasa point… we should just go and get some rest for today.” A younger man grabbed the elderly woman’s elbow, trying to get her to calm down and leave with them; Shiaki ripped her arm from his grip, 

“No! That’s not good enough, you think my old bones can cope with sleeping rough?”

“Please, Shiaki-san, now isn’t the time—” Another grabbed her other arm,

“I said NO!” The woman the span around and shoved her hand against the young woman trying to pull at her, but instead of a simple shove, the younger woman was thrown clear across the room in a whirl of wind; “Hmph,” Shikaki smirked to herself, before looking at the Hokage, “Well, it seems I have found my chakra after all these long years after all, Tsunade-hime.”

 

..

.

_Sorry if you felt the actual fight scenes were a little lacking here, but honestly, prolonged and parry-and-return fight scenes kinda bore me these days (and we had plenty of those in Naruto lol) I felt the the more general view of the wider battlefield would work far better in this chapt! Even if you think this was a little bit rushed, I think you've all guessed by now that Otsutsuki was never the real enemy here,  ^_ ~_


	11. Chapter 11

 

_This chapter also jumps around in timelines quite a bit (ie the perspective of each character takes them from when they return/awoke up to a few weeks thereafter), I hope it won’t be too confusing to read._

_Also for all content creators and content readers/appreciators —_ **_WE MUST FIGHT ARTICLE 13!_ ** _It is an EU directive aiming to shut down a lot of fan-created content (which means sites like this one, ffnet, Youtube, Tumblr and others). We will be blocked from accessing or creating under the guise of protecting copyrights. This will also affect people who create original content and link their work by using these sites. If you enjoy fan fiction, you’ll be down to only enjoying only your own works if Article 13 is passed! It will also affect things like memes, fan-analysis videos and other types of fan-related content.IT IS THE NET-NEUTRALITY DEBATE ALL OVER AGAIN, BUT IN THE EU THIS TIME. US folks, you will lose your EU/UK creators so please do not ignore this! Talk to your creators/bffs in the UK and EU and encourage them to talk to their MEPs and FIGHT THIS!_

_Those in the UK and EU — talk to your MPs/representative to STOP IT!!! I DO NOT WANT TO LOSE THE INTERNET or what the internet really stands for: creation and networking._

_This chapter is a biggun’ since you’ve all had to wait for so long — and please remember: life won’t be divided into neat chapters, sometimes shit all hits you at once. But I completed NaNoWriMo (yay!) so you have another 50k of this story to go and then some (it still isn’t finished lol >.> and depending on how the Article 13 vote goes, you might never get to read all of it T.T)_

_Whew okay: on to the chapter, for those actually reading this sorry it's taken so long!_

 

 

 

**Hakujitsumu XI**

 

As soon as Sakura landed at the gates of Konoha and saw the industry of the civilians working to rebuild, she wasn’t sure if she felt elated or exhausted. The battle might have been over, but the recovery was only just beginning and it would surely take many long years yet.The group of shinobi arrived with an odd scattering of whoops and claps, but it was hardly a welcome, many barely paused in their work to stop and look at the returning party of grubby and tired shinobi as they made their way towards the administration building.

“So everyone in the world really did wake up at the same time, huh?” Naruto said, 

“Looks like it.” Sakura quietly agreed, “Let’s see what Tsunade-sama has to say first.” 

“Yeah! Then I want ramen.” Naruto agreed, before adding quietly, “Lots of ramen.” The group slowly climbed the stairs and filed into Tsunade’s office which, in their absence, had become a fucking mess; it looked as if a hoard of Naruto clones had whirled through the place each brandishing a rasengan. Shikamaru could barely open the door for the stacks of untidy papers and files scattered about, 

“Don’t knock that—!” Tsunade shouted, but cut herself off as the stack scattered to the floor regardless of her wishes, “…over… Oh, you’re back, good, come in.”

“Good afternoon, Tsunade-sama.” Sakura greeted as politely as she could, sensing now would not be a good time to poke the bear, 

“So you were successful in defeating Otsutsuki and Hinata took down the tree which awoke everyone under the Infinite Tsukikomi simultaneously.”

“H-hai, Tsunade-sama.” Sakura replied, not entirely sure whether she was stating or asking, 

“And are you aware that all the civilians have now woken up with chakra?”

“What?”

“What?”

“Ehh??” Shikamaru, Sakura and Naruto all replied simultaneously, Tsunade shushed them with a hand, 

“I’ve seen everybody and even pulled their records to double check — every single person who had been under the Infinite Tsukikomi has awoken with their own innate source of chakra; for the shinobi who’ve woken up, seem to have only their original stores.” 

“So… what does this mean for Konoha?” Shikamaru asked slowly, 

“We’re not sure yet, I’ve been struggling to keep the peace, a lot of the former civilians feel a lot of entitlement and ego from the power they’ve suddenly gained and with all of the shinobi returning to the village, things might get messy. I’ll be giving full briefs to all of the Jounins and Chuunins, who will in turn brief their respective teams to keep the peace, but I’ll tell you this now: do not engage with any civilians who might be looking for a fight, do not provoke any fights and above all aim to dissipate any crowds or mobs before anything gets physical. Got it?”

“Hai, Tsunade-sama.” They all replied,

“Good, now first things first: well done, all of you; you saved, quite literally, the world.” Tsunade smiled broadly and genuinely, “There won't be any major missions anytime soon, save for rebuilding the village, so I think you can all afford a week off at least, please get your reports written in the mean time and enjoy your time off.” 

“Hai, Tsunade-sama,” They replied and bowed low and left her office.

 

* * *

 

The rebuild of Konoha managed to, somehow, be both fast and slow at the same time; for many of the civilian population were eager to test out their new found chakra but their lack of discipline and control meant they destroyed more than they fixed. But for some, it meant a lot of the pressure was taken off the shinobi and the work had been more evenly distributed. The two months it took for the village to be brought back up to its full functioning capacity had, for some, been a lazy time — Kakashi and Gai were prime examples though had polar opposite opinions (much like their respective personalities). Kakashi had remained deeply under his rinnegan induced coma, though he was healthy and under the watchful eye of both Sakura and Shizune. Gai, however, had been truly heartbroken to realise the position that he was in: where days before, to his mind, he’d been enthusiastically training and growing in a happy Konoha but had awoken to a tense village with two useless limbs. Even his unfailing optimism seemed to have taken a hit, unable to bear the weight of the loss of the one thing Gai had always built himself upon. He’d spent many days alone in his hospital room and refused visitors often. 

It had taken Ino five separate attempts before she could even so much as catch Gai awake, more often than not, she suspected that he’d merely been feigning sleep; it had been a galling sight to look down at the man who’d always been so strong and so positive now bedridden and bandaged. As desperate as Ino was to be there for her former, impromptu mentor and provide him with some semblance of support in his difficult time, it had been blindingly clear that he wanted no company so she’d left him be. Lee had been almost as persistent as Ino intruding to talk to Gai and they’d bumped into each other in the corridor outside his room about a week after they’d returned from the battle with Otsutsuki,

“Lee? You’re awake!” 

“Hai, good morning, Ino, how are you?”

“I’m fine thanks, Lee, but I’m worried abut Gai; have you been able to get him to talk to you?”

“Ah, no. Gai-sensei’s heart is really suffering but I don’t know what to do! Do you think he would appreciate dumplings?”

“Lee, I’m not sure what to do either, I don’t want to leave him alone but he clearly doesn’t want company right now.” Ino replied, sliding down onto the bench lining the corridor, Lee took a seat next to her, 

“…Gai-sensei was always so positive and encouraging, he never stopped believing in me and that even if things failed, I would still have a way of standing back up. I don’t know how to do the same for Gai-sensei when he won’t even talk to me.” Lee said, his voice a good deal more sombre than Ino was used to hearing from him.

 

“Maybe we’re trying too hard, too soon? Gai’s only had a week to get used to reality, he probably just needs some time to get used to the position that he’s now in. Perhaps we should just giving him a little time to get used to things?” Ino offered,

“You might well be right, even though it feels cruel.”

“Let’s give him a few days, Lee. What does Gai like to eat or drink best? You said something about dumplings?”

“Uh… well, Gai-sensei is very frond of fruits, mango in particular and he’s rather fond of saké. And Gai had a recipe for special healing dumplings.”

“Well, then why don’t we put a basket together? Of Gai’s favourite foods and a little bottle of saké, I think we should keep it simple and small, things that Gai doesn’t feel he has to respond to or put on a good face for, if he isn’t ready.”

“Yes! That is a good idea! We should be gentle with Gai-sensei and let him recover at his own pace!” Lee’s volume slowly increased along with his height as he rose up from his seated position, “We will help Gai-sensei, but we will also let him tell us how he needs to be helped! TAKE HEART, GAI-SENSEI! ALL IS NOT LOST!” He finally bellowed down the corridor, earning no less than four replies of “shut the hell up!” and Sakura’s appearance from a distant room and she stomped down the corridor, 

“Lee what do you think you’re doing, screaming like that? We have patients who’re trying to recover!” 

“Ah, um, sorry Sakura-san, I guess I got a bit, ah, excited.”

“No kidding.” She deadpanned, clearly not appeased with his explanation, 

“Ah, sorry Sakura, Lee and I were just talking about what to do with Gai, he clearly doesn’t want any visitors.” 

“Then it is probably best to give him some space, this is all very new to him, after all, you should come back in a week or so… and stop it with the shouting.” She fixed Lee with a serious look, “Even if Gai likes it, keep shouting like that and you won’t get ten steps into this hospital before someone punches you.”

“H-hai, Sakura.” Lee sheepishly replied, “Sorry. I’ll see you later, Ino-san.” 

“Oh, wait, Lee, I meant to ask you something: do you have chakra now?”

“What?” Lee asked, cocking his head to the side slightly, 

“Didn’t you hear, Lee? All of the civilians who were caught by the tree woke up with chakra.” Ino explained,

Lee looked between them carefully for a few moments, “That is a cruel joke, Ino-san.”

“No, Lee, she’s being serious, all the civilians really did wake up the ability to knead chakra, that means you might be able to as well.” Sakura said, nodding encouragingly at him,

“Then, I shouldgo train! Bye Ino-san, Sakura-san.”

“See you later, Lee, we’ll raise Gai’s spirits soon enough,” Ino offered a grin and thumbs up,

“Hai!” 

 

“Who were you visiting?” Ino asked as the two walked slowly down the corridor,

“Ah, I was just talking to Kakashi.” Sakura replied, 

“He’s awake?”

“Of course not, he’s still in the coma, but talking to him whilst I check his vitals kinda helps… even if he can’t answer me.”

“He always did seem a bit non-verbal.” Ino replied, 

“Ino!”  


"I didn’t mean it like that, Forehead, I just meant he’s a pretty quiet guy at the best of times, right?”

“Sometimes, but that’s mostly with people he doesn’t know well.”

“I thought you were supposed to be off this week, anyway?"

“I was, but I just wanted to see how Kakashi was doing. I’m not actually on shift.”

“So how was the fight with Kaguya? It seemed like you guys beat her so quickly.”

“Yeah, it was the Tree, I’m sure of it, with the tree taken down, she’d been cut off from accessing all that chakra which really gave us a vital edge — and thanks to Kakashi, we didn't waste it.” 

“Okay, but what was it  _like_? Did she use any weird jutsu on you? She must have had incredible powers!”

“Yeah…” Sakura trailed off and it took Ino a moment to realise that she’d stopped walking, 

“Sakura? Are you all right?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess.”

“Sakura, we’ve known each other practically our whole lives, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, it was just… a genjutsu she used on me. I… saw Misaki again.”

“Oh-oh! What? What did she do?”

“You remember Misaki?”

“Of course I do! That little kid was the cutest!” 

“I— I told her she didn’t exist and Ino, she started  _crying_  and asking what she’d done, as if she’d done something to  _deserve_  it!” Tears were welling in Sakura’s eyes at the memory, 

“Oh, Sakura!” Ino pulled her into a hug, “I’m so sorry! But that was just a genjutsu, she was only manipulating your memories against you. Misaki loved you  _so_  much and you loved her! You had no control over the way things went and no one can change what’s happened. She used her abilities to manipulate you and she paid for that with death… by Kakashi’s hand no less.”

“Yeah, I… intellectually, I know that right, but somehow, I just can’t, I… seeing her stood by my leg, just the way she used to.” Sakura took a deep breath, “When I was training with Mageruko-sama, it was like I was able to put the past and those feelings into a box, not forgotten or ignored, but just set aside not allowing them to cloud my mind or my judgement, but on that battlefield, everything just came right back, like the lid had been pulled off and all those feeling just came right back to the forefront again… I can’t get that lid back on no matter how much I meditate.” 

Ino looked carefully at her old friend, “I think you need some time, too, Sakura, no one’s really stopped since we were awoken, no one — and least of all you, I think — have had any time to really take in what happened, have you even talked to Kakashi about Misaki, yet?”

“No.”

“Maybe you guys should, maybe it would help you both to talk about her and your memories of her. Are you guys together now, by the way?”

“Yeah, I think so, at least.” Sakura replied, “We’ve already slept together.”

“What?” Ino whipped her head around to face her friend, not expecting Sakura to come out with  _that._

“We were married two months ago, it’s not  _that_  weird, really, is it? It didn’t feel weird.”

“I… I guess you have a point and making up for all that time you wasted before getting together the first time, by the sounds of it.” Ino rolled her eyes slightly, “Did you hear Hinata and Naruto broke up?”

“Yeah, he sort of mentioned it. He didn’t seem very happy about it though and I really thought they’d have been the first to rekindle things.”

“I know, right? But I think a lot of things have changed and some things haven’t, at least, not so much. If you still love Kakashi and like being with him, and he you, then why change that? That said, I still think you need to talk to him about Misaki and the things you experienced in the Tsukikomi.”

“Yeah you always did give good advice, Ino, thanks.” Sakura smiled, “Oh, I was just about to go and check on Hinata and see if she was ready to be discharged, you want to come and help her get home? She’ll still be a bit sore from her injuries.”

“Oh, uh, you think that’s a good idea? I mean, wouldn’t she have some of the Hyuuga clan to help her?”

“She’s not joined at the hip to them, besides you guys are friends, right?”

“Well, sort of… I guess? Besides, I thought you said you weren’t on duty today?”  


“I think she’ll be happy to see you, c’mon.” Sakura said, “And I bumped into Shizune earlier, she asked me to discharge Hinata.”

 

“Morning, Hinata, how are you feeling?” Sakura asked as she stepped into the room, leaving Ino waiting outside. 

“Morning, Sakura, and pretty good actua—ow, well, good until I tried to sit up.” 

“Yes, you will be sore for a few weeks whilst your tissues heal, I’ll give you a quick check over, then I can discharge you.”

“Do you have to?”

“You don’t want to go home?” Sakura asked, 

“The rest of the clan will have woken up by now and I’m sure Father is back at the compound, ready to reinforce his rules with the clan.”

“Ah well, I won’t pretend like I ever actually knew Hiashi-san, but do you think it’s in any way possible that he might have changed coming out of the Tsukikomi, like you did?” She asked as she gently pulled aside the blankets and pressed a hand glowing with chakra to Hinata’s side,

“I suppose it is possible, but somehow I’m not holding my breath.” She replied sarcastically, earning a sympathetic smile from Sakura.

“You’re looking good and I think you’re ready to go home. Ino’s outside and she said she’d be happy to walk you home if you think you need any help?”

“That would be nice,” Hinata smiled, “Please.”

 

* * *

 

Lee left the hospital having failed in his primary task of seeing Gai-sensei, but had in fact discovered something interesting— he might now have chakra? It had been his life-long dream to become a ninja, from as early as he could remember, he looked up to and admired the shinobi he saw. But the realisation that he had no more chakra than the average civilian had been crushing and for the seemingly endless final year of the academy, he’d argued constantly with himself whether he should give up and stop fooling himself, though the taunts of his age mates rose in him a terrible stubbornness and one which eventually saw him achieve his Genin rank and then Gai had come into his life and taught him that he needn’t see his lack of chakra as a failure but rather an opportunity to focus on his other talents and develop them into real skills. At this stage in his life, Lee knew his worth and didn’t mourn his lack of chakra but some part of him was a little hesitant to test it. His identity had been built on being the master of taijutsu — what if he had only a little chakra? What if he was was too old to effectively learn ninjutsu? Or, worst of all he actually had no chakra? 

He was being silly and he knew it, if Gai-sensei was beside him, he’d tell him to go and try calling his chakra with a simple henge and then move on from there, if he had chakra, then he should tackle learning ninjutsu with the same gusto he put into learning his taijutsu and if he had none then he still had his physical skills. There was nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“Oi! What d’you think you’re doing?” An aggressive shout drew his attention from one of the nearby shops, 

“I’m fixing your shop? Because apparently we all have absolutely nothing better to do!  _Unlike_  all the ninja!”

“Oh shut your whining! I’m taking over the repairs to  _my_  shop since  _you’re_  doing it so badly! You can’t just not put in the secondary supporting strut!”

“Oh and you’re a construction engineer all of a sudden?” The first man rebutted, Lee popped hie head around the door to find the two stood in the middle of the half-repaired shop,

“Well I clearly know a damn lot more than you do! Get out of here.”

“Hey! I’m still getting paid for doing this! I’ve already spent days working on this dump!”

“You want to get paid for this sorry excuse for work? Get out!” The older man grabbed the younger by his collar and flung him clean out of the door, narrowly missing Lee, 

“Ah excuse me, please don't fight, if you need any work doing I will happily help you for free.” Lee finally spoke up, as he helped the younger man to his feet, 

“Get off! You ninja aren’t so high and mighty now, we all have chakra!” The slighted younger was clearly trying to gather his own as he reached for Lee, but the trained shinobi was far quicker and evaded his grasp.

“You might well now have chakra, but since you aren’t trained in its proper use, it is dangerous for you to carelessly wield it.” Lee certainly meant well and his tone of voice was polite, but it had most definitely been the wrong thing to say. The younger man swiped at him several times, missing every mark which only served to make him angrier, 

“Oh, leave him be, Shun, you’re as worthless at construction as yer are at fightin’.” The older man said, “And I don’t need no help from some stuck up ninja, get lost, the both of you!” 

 

“Have a good day,” Lee bowed politely to the grouchy old man and continued on his way, tensions certainly were running high, the civilians must really feel that the playing field had been levelled with their gift of chakra from the Tree… but they had no training and no discipline and they would soon run into serious trouble. He’d stopped one fight at least and he  _did_  have a purpose to today! With renewed determination, he sprinted off to the training ground, which, it turned out was horrendously busy with milling civilians convinced they had somehow become jounins overnight and several grumpy shinobi trying to train whilst avoiding the careless, noisy civilians. After some minutes of trying to find a quiet area, he was eventually forced to move on to the more secluded training area atop the Hokage mountain. Today’s search for chakra was not off to a good start clearly: but Lee was not one to take bad omens to heart and pushed on.

Eventually in the peace and quiet atop one of Gai’s favoured training areas, he stood still, closed his eyes and paid attention to his body. Gai, for all of his enthusiasm and bravado, was a strong believer in meditation and understanding one’s body: listening to what it needed, resting and activity were of equal importance. Throughout every meditation session, Lee had felt himself excluded from the conversation when Gai trained the four of them and he began speaking about how to sense the focal point of one’s chakra, and to follow the pathways out to each of the fingers and toes. It had meant nothing to Lee, with no chakra to sense, but after such daily meditations and despite their grumbling, Neji's and TenTen’s chakra control and jutsu usage had improved rapidly. And now, as Lee recalled Gai’s calm, meditative words he searched for that same source of chakra he’d always heard about, he  _did_  feel a little bit different, but he followed the meditation through until his fingers tingled, he raised his hands together and tried the only jutsu he knew, 

“Henge!” 

Lee dared not believe it for a moment or two, as he saw the cloud of dust dissipate and he looked down at the blue trousers he was now sporting, the green flack jacket and the unusual scars he had on his hands. He lifted one to trace long board scar that crossed his face, cheek to cheek over his nose. He  _did_  it, he finally managed to transform himself into his old academy instructor in a feat that had been beyond him all those years ago. He let out a loud whoop and dancing around in his excitement, dispelling and re-executing the simple jutsu many times over, a different person each time. He had chakra. Finally! Now all he had to do was learn more ninjutsu! 

If only he still had Gai-sensei to teach him.

 

* * *

 

For as sedentary as Kakashi’s and Gai’s recoveries had been, Hinata’s had been radically different; even as Hinata and Ino slowly ambled back through the busy village, it would signify the last moment of peace for Hinata for what would turn out to be a good long while. 

“You’re back at last, Hinata.” Hiashi had been waiting for her, “Are you fully healed?”

“Iee, Father, my injuries are healed, but my body still needs more rest until I will be back to full strength.” Hinata replied, trying to remind herself to remain strong; something about her father just made her feel like she was four all over again,

“As expected. I was very surprised to hear that we apparently have you to thank for waking us all up and allowing Kakashi-san to strike the final blow.”

“Hai, Father.” Hinata replied as she regarded her father carefully, he had the same derisive line in his forehead and coldness in his eyes; his shoulders were squared and his feet close together: his favourite stance. It had always been a lie, a trick to fool any potential enemies into thinking that he was unprepared for an attack and, Hinata suspected, an attack was exactly what was coming. 

“Then I assume you are well enough to explain exactly why you were in my study? Why had you gone through all of my private files? Did you think me dead?”

“No, Father, I did not; but at the time I was the most senior member of the Main House awake.”

“And?” Hiashi demanded, 

“Hiashi, please, Hinata has just been released from the hospital and she still needs rest, you can save your questions for later, I am certain she has a good reason.” Hisako, Hinata’s mother, interrupted as she walked across the entrance hall, “You can at least let her into the house, Hiashi. Hinata,” Her mother smiled at her, “You are finally back home! I am so sorry that we didn’t get to bring you home from hospital, you father thought it best we work on getting the clan compound repaired and our members briefed. Though, you look very well and I’m sure its nice to come back to the compound with it full of people rather than yourself alone.” 

Hinata found herself instantly relaxing at the appearance of her mother, though she carefully eyed the handful of branch house members scurrying through the main house carrying all manner of things from linens to cleaning utensils to pots and pans, clearly hard at work back in their old roles as domestic servants. “Ah, yes, I had Yiro-san and Ryutsa-san with me back then and they were a great help.”

“Good, come and eat something, you must be hungry; I made you some onigiri, egg rolls and miso soup. I’m sorry it’s not very exciting, but food supplies are still being rectified.”

“It’s all right, anything will be better than the ration packs they had at the hospital.” Hinata laughed, slipping off her sandals and following her mother into the kitchen; she could feel her father’s stare on her back but paid him no mind. She would eventually have to face Hiashi, but there would be an order to things. First: a good meal and then to go and find Yiro and Ryutsa. 

 

…

 

“Ah, Yiro-san, how are you?”

“Hinata-sama! You’re back from the hospital! How are you? I feel guilty that I wasn’t on that mission to protect you—”

“Yiro-san, please, the teams had been decided by the Hokage and I am alive and well now. Do you have a few minutes spare to talk?”

“Of course, Hinata-sama, please come in.” Yiro stood aside to welcome her into his modest house, “Would you like some tea?”

“Please. How has the clan been since everyone woke up?”

“Busy, Hiashi-sama has been keen to return the clan to its full functionality, as it was before the war.”

“You don’t sound too happy about that.” Hinata replied, taking a seat on the zabuton, 

“Oh, well, I understand it is expected, but… what you were saying, when it was just yourself, Ryutsa and I… well…”

“I understand, Yiro-san, and I still have every intention of changing the clan for the better.”

“But… do you think Hiashi-sama will agree?” Yiro asked, his doubt clear in his voice as he carried the teapot and two cups over to the small table, 

“I do not intend to give Father the option.”

“Wh- _what?_ ” Yiro’s tone lowered quickly to a whisper, “Hinata-sama, are you sure?”

“I’ve only been back a day, Yiro-san, and already I see Father has been resolute in his subjugation of the Branch House, I haven’t seen any of the Main House members so much as lifting a finger; it has to change, the world isn’t the way it was before and we aren’t under any direct threat of war.” Hinata took a sip of the tea Yiro had poured her, “Have you spoken to many of the Branch House members? Are they happy that things have returned to ‘normal’?”

“Um, well, I think many people were very shocked, it seemed that they did not see themselves, under the Tsukikomi, as being so tightly bound—” Yiro’s words were cut off by a knock at his door, 

“Yo, Yiro, are you in?” Natsuki’s voice called, Yiro looked at Hinata who merely nodded, 

“Uh, yeah, come in.”

“Hey,” She slid open the door, “I was just coming to— oh, Hinata-sama, I apologise.”

“Don’t worry, Natsuki-san, please join us. How have you been?” 

“Quite well, thank you.” Natsuki replied, taking a seat at the table beside Yiro.

“It must have been a big shock, waking up. If you don’t mind me asking, what did you dream about?”

“Oh, um… boring stuff… really, just being back in Konoha, with the, um, clan.” Natsuki politely lied, 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I dreamed I was free of many of the clan’s responsibilities, but of course, it was also a time of great peace so I suppose it made sense.” Hinata offered casually, finishing off the last of her tea, “Thank you, Yiro-san, Natsuki-san, but I should be getting back, so I’ll leave you to your conversation.” Hinata rose to her feet and bowed politely, prompting the other two to hurry to their feet and return the bow, 

“Goodbye Hinata-sama, I am pleased you are feeling better.” Yiro said,

“Thank you, we’ll speak again soon, Yiro-san.” Hinata let herself out and walked back towards the Main House pleased, with any luck, the seeds of displeasure had already been sewn and wouldn’t take too much prompting to turn them into enough support that they might accept her as clan leader following a challenge to Hiashi. But it would not be wise for her to rush: she needed to train.

 

* * *

 

For much of the next three weeks, Hinata found herself more and more on edge, everywhere she went and every chore she tried to do herself, she found a young branch house member anxiously trying to take the job from her. Each one of them politely insistent, constantly referencing Hiashi in their need to do the job in Hinata’s stead; always she told the ninja that they need not worry, they would not hear of it, their eyes darting cautiously around lest some more vengeful main house member was watching and would report them to Hiashi. And it was starting to grate on Hinata; she increasingly found herself wanting to snap at her immediate family for their insistence — or complicity — in such callous practices. The only way she found to keep herself in check was training constantly.She was desperate to reform the Hyuuga, to destroy the old ideas of a servant class within their clan, but timing would be critical and a misstep would spell disaster for the very people she was trying to help. 

She walked slowly back into her house, her limbs aching from a long training session, and set the kettle to boil when Kiko hurried into the kitchen, 

“Hinata-sama! I am sorry I was not here when you returned.”

“It’s fine Kiko-san, really, I rather like making tea myself.”

“Hinata-sama, it is my duty to see to the needs of the Main House members. Please—”

“Kiko-san, this is not a test or a trick, I am not a child and I am quite capable of making myself to tea.” Hinata kept her voice calm and gentle, “Do Father or Hanabi get angry with you for not waiting on their every whim?” Kiko’s eyes merely darted to the doorway and back to the floor, “Kiko you are not a servant, I do not feel comfortable making you do everything for me. I’m not comfortable with the main house  _expecting_  you to wait on them hand and foot.” She’d lowered her voice for the last part, stepping a little closer to Kiko, “It’s wrong and I want to put a stop to it.”

“B-But, Hiashi-sama is the head of the clan, he reserves the right to direct the clan in whatever manner he choses.” Kiko didn’t sound very confident in her assertion. 

“Oi, Kiko,” Hanabi poked her head around the door, “I want lunch ready after my bath and make sure you put enough lavender oil in the water this time.” 

“Hai, Hanabi-sama.” Kiko snapped to attention and hurried out of the door, 

“She do something wrong?” Hanabi asked, her face schooled in a cold look of derision, 

“No and Kiko-san is not a servant, Hanabi, you’re capable of drawing your own bath and making your own lunch. Stop being lazy.” Hinata shot back at her sister before pouring out the boiled water into her tea pot, 

“She wants to help, it’s better to give them jobs to do so they won’t cause trouble.” 

“You realise that Kiko is older than you, Hanabi? I think  _you’re_ the one who needs to be kept out of trouble.” 

“Fuck off.” Hanabi turned to stamp back down the corridor, though found Hiashi close behind her, 

“We do not use such language, Hanabi.” Hiashi spoke down his nose at her, “An you will draw your own bath, it is time for Kiko’s training.”

“Yes, Father.” Hanabi replied shortly before disappearing off down the corridor. 

“I am please to see that you have been training, Hinata.”

“I have, Father, it is important to keep my skills sharp.”

“Of course.” Hiashi looked carefully at his daughter for a moment and it seemed to Hinata that he wanted to say something further, though refrained and instead walked out of the room. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

“So what did Yiro say, is he still with you?” Ino asked, handing Hinata her water bottle, 

“Thanks. And yes, he’s spoken to a lot of the other Branch members, ones he thinks will support me and there’ve been some positive replies, but I’ve got to move carefully. The last thing I want is Father tipped off and letting him gain the advantage.” Hinata replied before taking a long slow glup of water, “Thanks for helping me train, Ino.”

“No worries. Do you really think it will come down to a fight?”

“Yes, I do. I’d like to think it won’t but some part of me knows that it will… the way Father’s been these past few weeks, he hasn’t changed at all and he’s been pushing the Branch House, training them like he’s expecting a war.” Hinata was about to take another drink but her thoughts were too eager to be verbalised and the bottle never made it to her lips, “He’s reinforced the caste system with a vengeance, he doesn’t want any of the Main House mixing with the Branch houses unless its for chores, missions or ceremonial duties… I’ve managed to speak to a few Branch members, to ask them about what they dreamed under the Tsukikomi and every single one of them mentioned that they no longer had the curse mark, every one still saw themselves as part of the clan, but  _not_  in their current subservient role!”

“Does Hiashi know that?” 

“Pff! He hasn’t asked anyone what they dreamed of, he apparently issued a decree for everyone to realise that they were just dreams and forget them, that they needed now to focus only on their reality.” Hinata spat, 

“What an asshole… no offence.”

“Oh, none taken!” 

 

The silence pervaded for a few minutes more, the two women catching their breaths from their spar, “Sorry, Ino, I’ve been rambling about my own problems. How are you? How’ve things been since we got back?”

“Me? Okay, really, my apartment’s holding up — Chou and Shika did a good job, clearly! But I’m worried about Gai, he isn’t taking realising the loss of his legs well.”

“I’m sure, it must be crushing to lose such a vital part of his identity; but Gai has always been strong, I am certain that he will come to terms with it eventually, but I think he will need his beloved students by his side.” Hinata smiled gently,  

“Yeah, it’s so horrible seeing him this way now, he still won’t even see Lee very often, let alone me and its been over three weeks. I just wish I knew what the right thing was to do.”

“Listen to him, he’s telling you what he needs, even if he isn’t talking. Just like what my clan are doing to Hiashi.”

“Yeah.” Ino agreed, rising back to her feet to begin stretching out her arms, “So when will the challenge happen?”

“Not sure, I need to balance it between growing strong enough myself and riding the momentum of what people dreamed about. I’ve been to library as often as I’ve been able to read up on past coups to try and get an insight into the power dynamic changes, but the more classic the signs of dissatisfaction…”

“The more of a head’s up you’ve giving to Hiashi.”

“Exactly.”

“Maybe a better way is to plan out exactly how the challenge will go down.” Ino nearly whispered, conscious of the fact they were out in the open of the training ground and potentially being overheard, “You can come over to mine and we can brainstorm later, if you like? I can even get Shikamaru to come over and help.”

“That would be great, I think Shikamaru’s brain is exactly what I need for this sort of planning and I need as much help as I can get.”

“Good, I’ll talk to Shika, the promise of home-cooked food will surely get him to come over, how about seven?”

“Sure, I’ll be there.”

“Then I’ll catch you later, Hinata, I really should get back to work.” Ino waved as she hurried away. Hinata remained seated for a few minutes, the puzzle turning itself into knots in her mind that seemed to have no clear answer. 

 

“Hinata-sama!” The hurried call of her name drew her attention, 

“Yiro-san? What’s the problem?” She leapt to her feet, 

“Hinata-sama! Hiashi-sama is interviewing the members of the Branch House, he didn't say exactly what for, but I am afraid that he suspects a challenge to his authority is likely.” Yiro explained quickly, “I apologise if any of my actions have lead to this, Hinata-sama! I tried be a discreet and careful with my questions as possible!”

“It’s okay, Yiro-san, it was highly unlikely that we were ever going to keep this hidden forever, but we don’t know the full situation just yet anyway, let’s head back to the compound for now.” 

“But, Hinata-sama—”

“Yiro-san, it will be all right, I will protect you and the other members of the Branch House if Hiashi makes any accusations. Let’s go.” They didn’t rush, but Hinata could feel the anxiousness growing on Yiro with every step and by the time they saw the walls of the compound, he was outright sweating. “Yiro-san, please calm down, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Hai, hai, Hinata-sama.”

They finally walked into the compound and found it eerily quiet, the entryway doors of the Main House were fully open, with the tapestries of clan symbol hung up and proud, a light breeze pulling at the bare branches of the tree. 

“Where is everyone? I don’t see any movement?”

“I don’t know, but please go home, Yiro-san and act as normal, don’t say anything inflammatory to anyone, not even Ryutsa-san and don’t draw any attention to yourself.”

“Hai, Hinata-sama.” Yiro turned to her and bowed low, before turning to walk away towards the Branch House homes,  

“I think perhaps you should stay, Yiro-san,” The loud voice of Hiashi called across the courtyard, “I have some questions to ask you. Come here.” Yiro paused mid-step, his eyes unconsciously glancing toward Hinata before he made another move, “Don’t look to her!” Hiashi snarled, “I am your clan leader, you will do as I say!” Yiro obeyed and walked slowly over to Hiashi, “Hinata, you will remain there until I have finished speaking with Yiro-san. Hanabi will watch over you, to make sure that you listen to me.” Hanabi herself appeared from seemingly nowhere, watching Hinata carefully from across the compound. 

“You know, in that dream world, you seemed perfectly content to pass up leadership of the Clan to me to go off and become a brood-mare for that Uzumaki.” Hanabi spat as she walked slowly down the three steps of the engawa and across the open space, in an indirect route to Hinata, “Why are you now causing trouble? Why have you suddenly decided that you want to claim your birthright and that the right way to do that is by throwing it in Father’s face? By disrespecting everything that he stands for? Do you even have any  _idea_  how difficult Father’s job as clan leader is?”

“Watch your mouth, Hanabi.” Hinata shot back, “The only thing you’ve ever desired, having watched my failures, was to win Father’s approval. You’ve never done anything for yourself not even thinking which played right into Father’s egotistical hands; Cousin Neji often spoke of trapped he felt, bound by the strict rules of the clan, like being a caged bird, he’d called it and I think that Father has caged you, just as easily as if you also bore a cursed seal.” 

“How dare you!” Hanabi ducked into a fighting stance, her byakugan straining her eyes, “I think you’re just jealous because I am the only child capable of living up to Father’s lofty expectations for his progeny.”

“There is more to being a leader than simply living up to expectations.” Hinata calmly replied, refusing to get drawn into a petty side-squabble with her sister. As poor timing as this was and how the little voice in the back of her mind warned that she wasn’t ready, though worrying about it was now moot; her father had found her out and a fight would be forced. All her attention must be focused on her primary enemy.

“Are you going to fight me, or are you too scared of loosing?” Hanabi snapped, Hinata kept her eyes trained on the entryway to the Main House, 

“I am tired of you now, Hanabi, return back to the engawa.” Hana opened her mouth to protest, but Hinata was losing her patience, “Or do you still lack the discipline to listen to your elders?” Hinata had never spoken that way to Hanabi before — or indeed anyone else — and it had been unexpected enough to silence Hanabi’s retort, giving Hiashi enough time to interrupt them for good.

 

“Hanabi! Step away from Hinata.” Hiashi stood beside a nervous and guilty looking Yiro, “Come here, Hinata.” Hiashi did not look best pleased, but that wasn’t saying much for a man who was little more than a walking frown. “I have had an interesting conversation with Yiro. Hinata are you really so foolish as to believe that I will accept this dissent from you? Has knocking over some tree addled your brain into thinking that you can challenge me? And win? You are a fool and you have always been a disappointingly weak child. It would appear that you, alone, are the one who did not awake from that genjutsu.”

“You are wrong.” Hinata rebutted, “I see more clearly now than you ever have; the clan does not need to retain it’s tyrannical grip upon the branch house, we do not live in the dark years of the second and third wars any longer, the world is now entering an unprecedented era of unity and the strength of the ties between villages is stronger than at any other point in history. It might not mean we never face conflict again, but it does mean is that we no longer need a system of inherited slavery! It’s wrong!” 

Hiashi smirked arrogantly, “Even as an inheritor of the byakugan, you are very short sighted. The Branch House was not formed purely as a fighting force but to  _protect the byakugan_. The integrity of the bloodline and the wielder, with their lives if necessary.” Hiashi grabbed Yiro by the scruff of his neck and hurled him forwards, forcing the younger shinobi to stumble down the steps in search of his balance, “So here is your Branch House servant, he doesn’t look like much from here but still, you rather send him off, out into the world to marry whomever he pleases and ignore his duties to the house, all the while sullying our genetic integrity and losing our unique katas and teachings? Of what benefit could that possibly be to the clan?” Hiashi laughed, “You think  _that_  is the way to run a clan?”

“I think the surest way to kill a clan is to keep it in a stranglehold. The clan members are still people and they deserve better than to be branded as little more than dogs. That is a relic of the old ways, before the villages were founded and it is time it died out, just like that endless war did.” Hinata hadn’t noticed at first, but their conversation had garnered quite an audience, though whether she’d get any true support with Hiashi and Hanabi still stood tall, she wasn’t sure. The timing had just been so poor.

 

Hiashi, it seemed, was done with talk and in an instant he’d leapt from the engawa and struck out a Yiro, still trapped in the intense anxiety the directed derision from his clan leader tended to produce, just about managed to remember he was still a Jounin and a gifted dojutsu user. He ducked and weaved, evading the stabbing hands of Hiashi, but Hinata was not going to stand about and watch Yiro fight her battle for her and she leapt in, easily anticipating Hiashi’s switch to her and his use of the eighth kata. In this battle, Hinata needed tactics the Hyuuga weren’t familiar with, trading traditional moves and parries would get her nowhere. 

She whipped a handful of shuriken from her pouch and flung them towards Hiashi as she darted back a few steps to refocus her chakra; Hiashi’s years on her were not wasted however, as he deflected the projectiles with ease and follow up, darting between Hinata and Yiro and he threw a kick at her. She blocked it well, though it was clearly a distraction as he used the momentum to spin around and drive the kunai in his hand towards Yiro’s chest. He just about caught up to the movement but his anxiety had him fumbling to sweep it clean away from him, the sharpened tip tearing through the tissue of his bicep. 

Hinata saw, as she swung her arm through the arc aiming for Hiashi, Hanabi chose then to make her move; whatever weights were slung around her arm had been ditched by her sister for she moved without so much as a blur. Hanabi was upon Yiro, her chakra charged fingers stabbing at his opening points, though she was not in the traditional stance and every defensive counter move that had made allowed Hanabi to slip right past them. His heavily bleeding arm was sluggish — only to trained eyes — and Hanabi used every opportunity to feign and parry and wear him down.

Hiashi, meanwhile, seamlessly returned his attention to Hinata, his own style reflecting his decades of clan mentality, he span into his absolute defence and Hinata darted around him, aiming for Hanabi; the two were an even match for the moment, their respective kicks and punches perfectly aimed and perfectly blocked.She swung her leg around, aiming a kick to Hanabi’s chest her sister ducked just as she felt the stab of Hiashi’s chakra charged fingers to her kidney. The force of his strike was enough to lift her clean off the ground, she was barely able to right herself before she landed. Hiashi followed up without a moment’s hesitation and his punch connected cleanly to Hinata’s jaw. Yiro’s scream pulled her attention off Hiashi as she sawthe blood soaked kunai in Hanabi’s hand and the crimson blood pour from his neck. 

He stumbled backwards, his hand’s vainly trying to stem the blood gushing from his wound and their eyes connected in a moment; she felt the white hot rage flush through her as she flew at Hanabi, her fists fuelled by her grief and anger rather than strategy and for a moment, she forced her back. Her chakra infused fingertips enough to slice through the flesh on Hanabi’s neck and chin, though the wound was superficial and her blindness had allowed Hiashi to make his final move. He threw a well timed kick to Hinata’s chest, his leg charged with chakra and that final strike from Hiashi sent her flying backwards, knocked clean off her feet and she slammed into the ground, skidding to a halt close to the clan gates; she swiped at the blood from her mouth as she willed her limbs to move and obey her and shakily she made her way to her feet. 

Hiashi hadn’t completely escaped injury, but he was fairing better than she, “As expected, you have lost, Hinata! You were ill-prepared, unsupported and full of foolish ideas, what hope did you ever have of challenging me?” Hiashi shouted, “You are banished from the clan, your birthright is rescinded and you will never again be welcome on clan property. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take your eyes here and now?” He shouted though did not pause, “Even at full capacity, you were no threat to me, you were barely able to even scratch your sister… the eyes will be safer in your body until I am ready to collect them. If you really want to hurt the clan, you should put out your own eyes but a coward such as yourself would not dare. Get out of my sight before I change my mind.” Hiashi turned his back on his eldest daughter, swiftly followed by Hanabi who, in turned, was haltingly followed by the observers of the clan. 

She saw her mother who remained staring at her eldest daughter until she was pulled around by Hiashi. Her eyes were drawn to the corpse of Yiro, haloed by the slowly growing pool of slowly coagulating blood; a good man who’d died in vain for Hinata’s stupidity. With little more than the backs of her clan to look at and unwilling to risk any more deaths what option did she have but leave? The silence she stood in was deafening, her senses felt numb to anything and everything but the sensation of failure. 

 

The streets were quiet and with but a few scattered people that Hinata barely saw as she wandered aimlessly, the aches and pains of her battered body felt well deserved for the sacrifice Yiro had been forced to give. She should have been more careful, spoken less often and taken more precautions. She  _knew_  Hiashi had been suspicious and had hardly embraced her back into the clan; Hinata had taken a stupid idea into her head and planned for it in no way, shape or form; she’d felt the rush of leadership in those few short weeks that it had been only herself, Yiro and Ryutsa and, like a dumb ass, had believed that the rest of the clan would follow along behind as easily and that radical change would not take all that much work.  

Even under the Infinite Tsukikomi, she’d been divorced from the clan, though under less strenuous means, she’d stepped down from her position, endured Hiashi’s derision and Hanabi’s insults, but just as soon had been free to live her own life. In some ways not so much different from this point in time, but this time with the loss of an innocent life, from the one man she truly trusted in the clan. The one man who’d consistently stayed by her side andgiven her his undying loyalty at the drop of a hat. 

“Hinata? Are you all right?” It was Shikamaru,

“Huh?”

“You look pretty beaten up… did someone attack you?”

“…” Hinata was not ready to talk or maybe she wasn’t able, her tongue felt numb in her mouth as if someone other than herself was controlling it.

“C’mon, Ino’s apartment is just over there, you were coming over tonight anyway, right?” Shikamaru clearly had better sense than to push, and he led them over to Ino’s apartment building.

“Hey guy— Hinata? I wasn’t expecting you until a bit later, are you all right?” Ino asked all at once as she stood aside to let them in, Hinata didn’t reply as she wandered in, the words were on the tip of her tongue but they felt like a foreign language. They weren’t ready to be spoken, they hadn’t been digested enough, she hadn’t fully accepts them and to speak them now would do a disservice to them. “Hinata? What’s happened?”

“H-he knew, he was waiting for me… he killed Yiro.”

“What!?” Ino almost shouted, “He knew? He killed Yiro? I… what?”

“Calm down, Ino, you’re not helping; here.” Shikamaru handed Hinata a glass of water, “Just start from the top, HInata.” He said, as Ino guided her to a seat on her sofa, 

“It’s okay, Hinata, just tell us what happened.”

 

 

..

.

 

_A/n — Sometimes life really doesn’t care if you’re ready for something or not._


	12. Chapter 12

_Recovery isn’t linear, it’s normal to have setbacks and bad days and whatever relapses you might have, they don’t negate your progress! <3_

 

 

 

 

 

“Tsunade, this is completely unprecedented! I have been hearing reports from all across Fire of civilians spontaneously developing chakra! You, as the authority over ninja in the Land of Fire, must take some responsibility over this.” The daimyo was clearly doing his best to keep his emotional control, though it was tenuous at best from what Tsunade could see through the monitor, 

“I understand, Daimyo-sama, I have not been ignoring this issue, I assure you; I have spent the past several weeks collecting and collating data on all the civilians who have demonstrated the ability to knead chakra; I am in the process of writing a full report with my recommendations to you.” Tsunade replied, 

“Will you send those willing to the academy? Will you train them as ninja?”

“Certainly not all, Daimyo-sama, not only is the academy unable to support such high numbers, but neither could the village function if even  _half_ population become active shinobi. We would lose far too much infrastructure: foods and produce, housing, sanitation to name just a few and the village would be unable to function. Some I will allow to train as ninja if they wish so, but I am still considering and testing out the best ways to deal with the majority. The civilian population is vital to the functionality of the village.” 

The Daimyo sighed heavily, “What if no one wants to remain as a farmer? Or shopkeeper?” 

Tsunade shook her head slightly, “I am not certain, Daimyo-sama, but some will have to, if they wish the village to continue its existence.” 

 

The silence pervaded for a while, “When can I expect your report?”

“By the end of next week, Daimyo-sama, I intend to be a thorough as possible.”

“Very well. I will be in contact again as soon as I’ve read it.”

“Hai, Daimyo-sama.” Tsunade bowed low and the signal died, she flopped back into her seat as Tenga began disconnecting and packing away the video link equipment; Shizune knocked on the door and entered, 

“Tsunade-sama, I have the weekly hospital report for you.”

“Please don’t tell me we’ve had another spike in chakra-reared injuries?”

“They’re still high, but not quite as many as last week.” Shizune replied, “Kakashi is still comatose but stable, Gai is still refusing almost all visitors, though Lee did see him once and he hasn’t yet responded to your request about the class.” 

“That’s a shame; ask Lee if he will take over.”

“Hai. Yamato’s status is unchanged, despite Sakura’s and I’s attempts to heal him, we cannot remove the substance from him; not even the samples you took have helped us hypothesise a possible cure.” 

Tsunade sighed, she’d been worried about Yamato and had suspected that they might not be able to do anything for him. “That is not good to hear, but please keep trying, I don’t want to give up on him.”

“Of course not, Tsunade-sama.”

“If that’s all—”

“Actually, there is one more thing, there was a fight between Hiashi-sama and Hinata, it appears that she has been ostracised from the clan.”

“What?” Tsunade snapped, “When did this happen? Do we know why?”

“Yesterday, the gist I got from Ino was that Hiashi-sama caught wind of the fact Hinata was preparing to challenge him for leadership of the clan.”

“ _What!?”_  Tsunade was on her feet in a flash, “Was Hinata injured?”

“Not too badly, considering, though she did suffer a number of closed opening points, bruising and minor lacerations; Sakura has healed her and she’s on bedrest for the time being.”

“Where is she?”

“At Ino’s apartment, where she’ll be for the foreseeable future.”

“Have Hinata report to me first thing tomorrow morning… Kami-sama what is going on with this village?” Tsunade slumped back into her chair and fetched her sake bottle. The days just kept getting longer and longer. “You don’t have any ideas as to how we could help village cohesion, do you?”

“We missed the Obon festival, what if we hold a belated one? Many people in Konoha lost someone due to the fighting and it might be a good way for people to get together and remember that everyone is still a citizen of Konoha.”

 

* * *

 

_“M-me? Us? Are you sure?” Lee asked, sharing a glance with TenTen,_

_“Yes, Gai-sensei taught you his meditation techniques, right?”_

_“He did, but… Gai really should be the one to teach these techniques, I mean, these people aren’t even ninja.” TenTen argued,_

_“Right and only Gai-sensei can teach the meditations properly.” Lee following up,_

_“Well, Gai is refusing to take up the post and Kakashi is still comatose; Sakura is also trained in meditation and will help you out as her schedule at the hospital allows.” Shizune said, taking in their concerned faced, “Don’t worry, you’ll only start off with classes of about five to ten people and the idea is to help them understand how to control their chakra and themselves in the hopes of bringing down the number of altercations.”_

_“Um, Shizune-san, that sounds like a lot of responsibility… you’re asking me to stop all of the animosity in the village in an afternoon?” Lee asked,_

_“Yeah and you know that this guy isn’t exactly known for being the calmest guy in Konoha, right?” TenTen cut in, earning an irritated frown from him,_

_“No, no, Lee,” Shizune smiled amiably, “You only need to instruct the new civilians on the importance of learning emotional control.”_

_“Shizune-san, Tsunade-sama, I do not wish to sound rude, but I have only had chakra for a few weeks myself… even though I was employed as a shinobi, I have had it only a fraction of my career, less than a fraction! How am I supposed to adequately instruct others on something I am still trying to understand myself?”_

_“You still sat in on Gai’s meditation lessons, didn’t you?”_

_“I did.”_

_“And have you tried any of his meditation techniques since discovering your chakra?”_

_“Hai, Tsunade-sama.”_

_“Lee, you have always taken Gai’s teachings to heart — even those that aren’t so shinobi-like.” Tsunade rolled her eyes, “But it is Gai’s mentality, his enthusiasm, and patience for instruction that is really needed here and I think that is what you will have little trouble imparting.”_

 

Lee breathed a deep sigh as stood outside the classroom door, recalling the conversation he’d had with Hokage and Shizune the day before. They’d made it sound very simple but now that Lee was stood outside of his first ever class and he could feel his nerves creeping up on him.He had felt such uncontrolled anxiety since his first C rank mission, when he’d been cornered by a skilled fire user; after several long seconds of hesitating, he’d heard Gai’s shout of encouragement and it had been enough to snap him into action. But the problem he faced here was very unlike any other: his enemy here was a disinterested audience meeting his insecurity; there was nothing to fight here but himself. It was a battle Lee thought he should have long been used to, but all the times in which he’d faced this doubt before, the solution had always been to just  _try harder_  and he sensed that here, that would not help. Meditation was not something one could force into being — Gai had stressed as such on many an occasion — Lee had to find something to  _inspire_.

“Ohayo gozaimasu, my name is Rock Lee and I will be your meditation instructor.” He spoke clearly looking around the room, there were only six or so people in attendance and one of whom was Shun, the young man Lee had run into a few days prior. They looked at each other momentarily and Lee could easily read the flicker of derision which narrowed Shun’s eyes. “Do any of you have any experience with meditation?” He received only blank stares in return, “Meditation had a part to play in all areas of life, but when it is used in conjunction with chakra training, it allows you to control the chakra and not let it control you.”

“Oh come on!” Shun said, unable to keep quiet any longer, “What kind of horseshit is this? It’s chakra, if we now have it in our bodies or whatever, then it’s ours to control and I don’t get how any of this is supposed to help. Tsunade’s only going to turn around and tell us that we can’t be ninja anyway.”

“That is not true Shun-san, some of you will be allowed to become shinobi if you wish, but not  _everyone_  can be accepted as ninja — this was the case, even when only a certain percentage of the village had chakra. But as I said some of you, if you meet the required standards, will be allowed to train as ninja.” Lee patiently explained, “But even if you do not wish to be ninja, you might still want to use your chakra to help in your daily life: and in order to do that, you need to have control over it. Say if you wish to use chakra to lift a heavy box, if you do not control the chakra, you might end up crushing the box instead of lifting it.”

“Then we can just not use our chakra, right? I don’t care about using chakra for  _lifting_  things or  _moving_ things, I just want to know how to use it.” Another of the class, Seirra, butted in, frustration clear in her tone. 

“Chakra and emotions are very closely linked, it is very difficult to control your chakra when your emotions are heightened. Meditation will help you to control your emotions, in turn controlling your chakra, which will help you whether you intend to use your chakra or not.”

“Then why weren’t you teaching this to us when we were just civilians?” Another shouted out, 

“‘Cause they thought we weren’t no threat then.” Shun shouted back. “But now we’ve got chakra and all you supposedly hardened ninja are scared of us.”

 

Lee opened his mouth to reply, but the door opened and Izumo popped his head around the door, “Sorry to interrupt, Lee, but we’ve got to run some checks in these rooms, you’ll have to cut class short.”

“O-oh, I was told we’d have the rest of the afternoon?”

“Sorry, we weren’t supposed to start until tomorrow, but Tsunade-sama brought it all forwards; we’ll be done by the end of the day and you’ll be free to use the room from tomorrow morning as usual.”

“Hai, then I think we should end the class here. Please return here after lunch tomorrow and we will begin lessons proper. See you tomorrow.” The class gathered their mats and were out of the door before a full minute had passed.

“Tough crowd?” Izumo asked as he began wheeling in a little cart of electrical equipment, 

“I guess you could say that.” Lee sighed, slowly rolling up his own mat. 

“Have you talked to Gai? He was always the go-to guy for meditation.” Izumo had meant it kindly, but if Gai was in any state to instruct or even give advice, then Lee would probably not be in this position. 

“Hai, but he isn’t doing so well these days.”

“I heard, but I’m sure he’ll help if he can, Lee, you were always his favourite.”

Lee bid Izumo goodbye and found himself meandering towards Gai’s apartment despite his trepidation; he hovered outside for a few minutes. Torn between barging in on Gai again and risking pushing him further away or giving Gai something to consider to take him mind off his troubles. His back-and-forth went for a few long minutes until he heard Gai’s shout, interrupting his thoughts, “Lee! How long are you going to hang around outside my door?”

“I’m sorry Gai-sensei, but I really need your help! Trying to teach people meditation is just so difficult… how did you make it look so easy? And feel so important?” Lee hurried into Gai’s apartment and prostrated himself before his paraplegic former sensei,

“Lee, I have asked you repeatedly to give me some space.” 

“I’m sorry Gai-sensei,” Lee pressed his hands together in front of himself, “Please help me!”

Gai sighed heavily, “You need to inspire your students, Lee, and you cannot do that if you do not earn their trust first.”

“I’ve tried, but they hate shinobi… I don’t know where to start with them…”

“You must speak with them, learn their hearts. People, ultimately want to learn new things, they want to engage with others and share but the world has made us closed off. If you want this to be a success, Lee, you find a way to reach them, one person to another.”

 

* * *

 

“Good work, today, Ino, the Intel department is almost back to the way it was under Inoichi. Enjoy your weekend.” Ibiki offered as Ino nodded a goodbye and walked home. The intel department would likely never return to what it had been; the world was quite different and it certainly seemed that the ninja villages had must less to fear from each other than they had done in the past. All eyes had turned inward with the loss of the civilians and the friction that such a change to balance of power had caused. Ibiki had spent a lot of time in meetings with Tsunade-sama — probably helping her to make projections about the future of the village — he was, after all one of the finest analytical minds in Konoha. But work these days for Ino was a pleasant distraction from what awaited her at home.

Hinata had been staying at her place for over a week and she’d barely spoken ten words to her; the only thing Hinata did was sleep and eat and, on the odd day, wash and Ino was worried. She wasn’t going to push her, but she was largely at a loss for how to even help her. Hinata didn’t want to talk about anything and didn’t appreciate Ino’s attempts to rationalise.All of the reading Ino had been doing hadn’t helped so much and even Sakura and Shizune could only recommend giving Hinata time to process and keeping an eye on her in the mean time… which wasn’t easy. Between Ino’s day job setting the Intel department back up (real-life Ibiki had even less of a sense of humour than her dream-Ibiki had) and Hinata’s depression sleeping meant that she only saw her for some half-an hour a day. Ino herself had never suffered with depression, but she’d certainly known those who had; namely her mother, under the Tsukikomi, who’d been devastated by the loss of Inoichi. 

Ino had handled things the  _wrong way_  with her mother, she’d tried too hard to just push her out of it and ignored what her mother had really needed: someone to listen to her. Her mother had eventually gotten past it, but Ino’s ignorance and unkindness at such a difficult time for her mother, had created a rift between them that had never fully healed. If anyone might know how to help Hinata, it was no doubt her mother… if she’d even be willing to help Ino. She hesitated outside her parent’s house for several long minutes until she gathered the courage to knock at the door.

 

“Ino?” Her mother answered after a moment, 

“Hi… how are you? I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve visited.”

“I—I’m surprised, why now? I thought you said that you were ready to move out and—”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Mum, I was being selfish and I didn’t get what was going on with you. Even though we’ve been woken up from that jutsu and everything’s different now, but I still didn’t  _really_  get what I did wrong… but I think I do now, I really do and I’m so sorry!” Ino said as she looked into the brown eyes of her mother, who gave no reply for what felt like an eternity, until eventually she stepped aside and allowed her daughter into her house before pulling her into a hug. 

“I didn’t blame you, you’d just returned from war and instead of appreciating that my daughter had returned, I could only mourn the fact that my husband didn’t.”

“Oh Mum, no… I was devastated that I couldn’t protect Dad… I was just an asshole, I’m still sorry.”

“No, Ino, you were suffering too, let’s sit down.” Sora guided them into the kitchen and set the kettle to boil, “Is this why you didn’t come and see me as soon as we’d all woken up?” Ino nodded, “Didn’t you think it changed anything?”

“Not really… It was certainly a shock but everything I said or did or experienced under that jutsu wasn’t anything I wouldn’t have done anyway, even if we’d defeated Otsutsuki back then, I think I might well have acted exactly the same… I just didn’t get it then.” 

Sora nodded in understanding, “Then what’s changed?”

“Hinata.”

“The Hyuuga heiress? I hadn’t thought you two were friends.”

“Yes… well, sort of, she’s been going through a rough patch, she was kicked out by her father and in the process lost a close friend; she has been severely depressed ever since and I don’t know how to help her… and I didn’t exactly succeed in helping you, but I was wondering if you could tell me what I should have done, what would’ve helped.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, she probably still just needs time to process; that’s what took me so long. I was used to your father going off on dangerous missions — and he’d been away during the Third War, of course, though we weren’t married then, but something about his loss during that war caught me off guard. I’d stayed behind in Konoha and even fought off those sumo wrestlers who though they could catch the village unawares, not that they were prepared for  _us_  of course!” Sora grinned, “But I think that made it worse, that was the first time I’d really felt part of his world, and I’d assumed he’d be safe up at HQ, so I spent more energy worried about you, on the front line and then… you returned and he didn’t. I felt guilty, like I hadn’t worried enough for him.” She rubbed a hand over her eyes, as if trying to keep fresh tears at bay, “And, and I think it was that sense that I hadn’t done enough for him, that I hadn’t thought enough about him and he was just gone… felt like such a betrayal…”

“…And the one you did worry about came home ungrateful and selfish.” Ino finished, feeling the weight settle in her chest, “I didn't want to think too hard about that fact Dad died, like it would disrespect his memory or something stupid… we’re taught, even from the academy days that ninja should expect to give their life for the village and be honoured for that.” Ino could feel her own vision beginning to blur, “And I was selfishly angry with you for not understanding that… but it was  _Dad_ , not some unknown allied shinobi I didn’t personally know.” Ino sobbed, “I don’t know why you would forgive me.” 

Sora got to her feet and walk around to Ino’s side and pulled her daughter into a hug, “I always knew you’d become a shinobi after your father and I was always proud of you for doing so, but I knew that it would take from you as much as it would give. It’s never too late to apologise or learn to do better, Ino, you made that mistake with me, but luckily for you, I’m your mother and I’ll always be willing to give you a second and third chance… don’t make the same mistake with Hinata. All you need to be is there for her, listen to her whilst she processes. You need to be there to help her back to her feet and regain her strength. If she’s without her family now, she needs her friends more than ever. Don’t leave her alone at her darkest time, no matter what you think of it, it isn’t about you: it is about Hinata dealing with something her experiences up to this point have not prepared her for, she’s going to be a bit of a mess and that’s okay.”  

 

 

Ino meandered back towards her apartment, the evening was already long with the sun set and the village alight with lanterns and only a few milling civilians. Or rather not-civilians. Ino wasn't even sure what she was supposed to call them anymore, they had chakra, but they weren’t trained as ninja… would they take being called as civilians belittling? Or was it still normal for them? Ino shook her head, it really wasn’t something to be worried about anymore. She stopped by one of the grocery shops, pickings were still a little slim, but the basics were back in supply and Ino needed to pick up some extra bits for dinner. If only she knew what Hinata’s favourite meal was.  _Miso soup and onigiri was everyone’s favourite comfort food, right? Easy to eat and filling, so it should be close enough…_ She grabbed the ingredients and took it to the till, everything was a good deal more expensive now though it was hardly a surprise.

“Evening,” She greeted politely, “Just these please.” The owner didn’t reply as she tallied the price, 

“Two thousand Ryou.”

“Here. How are things going?”

“Fine. Change.” She place the coins beside her goods and turned away, clearly not in a chatty mood. Ino took the hint, put her change in her pocket and grabbed her purchases; she really wished things would hurry up and settle down, the whole town felt like one big powder keg waiting to explode and kill everyone. Since when did the end of a war bring greater tension?  _When the loosing side were forced to live with their victors_ , but they had won, they were free of the Akatsuki and the Mother… but perhaps the non-shinobi had never seen it that way, they’d probably never heard of the Akatsuki or thought that their threat extended beyond shinobi. All they had known was some distant war that had been won and they remained safely in Konoha getting on with their lives… only to be awoken and told it was all lie and left to pick up the pieces of a shattered world. Only, they had now been granted a power on par with the shinobi they had all been told they could not use. No wonder tensions ran deep.

“I’m home!” Ino called as she walked in through her door, 

“Hey.”

“Hinata? You’re up!” Ino was surprised to see her sat on the sofa, still in her pyjamas, “I was just about to make some dinner, how do you feel about miso soup and onigiri? I managed to find some umeboshi, but I could only get the packet-stuff for the miso.” Ino slipped off her sandals and lowered everything in her ams onto the kitchen counter, just managing to catch said umeboshi as they threatened to roll right off the counter and onto the floor. “I really wanted to get some beers, but with everything being out of operation for so long, I doubt we’ll see any for a few months more yet.” Ino was conscious that Hinata hadn’t said anything as she tuned back to face her; Hinata merely offered a wan smile, 

“Yeah.”

“Will you help me wash the rice?” Ino walked over and held out her hand, Hinata slowly grasped it and she pulled her to her feet, “It’ll only a take moment or two.” 

“Hey, Ino! Are you home?” 

“Idiot, I was just about to knock, there’s no need to shout!” Sakura’s voice from the far side of the door, shushed him, 

“It’s open.” Ino called and the two came in, 

“Hi, sorry for just dropping by, but I found my old stash of beer safe and sound in my apartment and though it only fit to share my friends.” Sakura explained, holding up the large case, 

“Sakura you read my  _freaking_  mind! Come and get those bad boys in the fridge!” Ino held open the fridge door on cue, 

“Hey, Hinata,” Naruto greeted shyly, “I heard you haven’t been well and I brought you some cookies, I had them in my cupboard, they haven’t been opened, but I hope they’re not stale.” He held out the crinkled packet from his bag,

“Thanks, Naruto.” She replied tentatively, not seeming to know what to do with the gift, 

“Hey, Hinata, how’ve you been this week? Have your injuries healed?” Sakura asked as she set the beers which wouldn’t fit in the fridge out of the way.

“Yeah, they still—they are fine.”

“Would you like me to take a look?”

“No, its okay, they always take time.”

“Well let me know if they still ache by mid-next week, I can heal them in no time. You don’t have to be in pain.” Sakura said gently, but Hinata merely turned back to her rice washing, not wanting to believe Sakura’s words. She let her be and turned back to Ino, 

“What are you cooking? I brought some extra rice with me and Naruto caught a duck earlier, fancy some?”

“Oh my god,  _duck?_  Yes! Real meat again!” Ino exclaimed, grinning at them, “I feel like I’m back under the Tsukikomi!”

“Kami-sama don’t you even dare!” Sakura shot back, “But what can I do to help?” She asked, nudging Naruto to dish out the food they’d brought.

“Ooh, you got some veggies, too? Where do you find this stuff?” Ino asked, her spirits instantly lifted by the promise of a good meal and cold beer.

“Haha, I might have found some wild vegetable garden?” Naruto raised a hand to scratch at the back of his head, 

“So you stole these?”

“Hahaha.” 

Ino rolled her eyes, but wasn’t going to refuse them, “You might as well wash them, then, if you’re done with he rice, Hinata?”

“Uh, yeah.”

 

Before long, they’d sat down to a veritable feast and cold beer, toasting it, 

“I missed days like these, almost feels like old times, huh?” Sakura asked, taking a swig of her drink,

“Ahhh! We’ve gotta figure out brew our own beer, I can’t go all that time again without drinking any!” Naruto said, having guzzled half his bottle in a single chug, 

“Steady on, or you’ll be drunk in no time.” Sakura chided as she dished Hinata out a large portion of duck and vegetables, before handing over her bowl of rice and another full to the brim with miso. Nobody spoke for a good long while whilst they all ate, the surest sign of good food, until at last every single scrap had been eaten.

“I felt bad for killing that duck, she was so cute! But I am glad now, that was awesome! Thanks for cooking it, guys!” Naruto spoke, the satisfaction clear in his voice as he set down his bowl on the table and leaned back in his chair.

“Yeah, that duck was really good, thanks for sharing, Naruto.” Ino replied, 

“No prob.” He grinned and rose to his feet, “Anyone want another beer?” They all nodded, bar Hinata, but he fetched her one nonetheless; he began to gather up the plates and bowls.  They drank and chatted away the night and, through Naruto’s drunken stupidity and laughter of the room, they eventually managed to tempt a chuckle out of Hinata. It was little more than forced breath out, but it seemed to be enough to break the dam and Hinata began to talk. About everything that happened on that day, what she’s spoken about with Hanabi and Hiashi, about how Yiro had died and utterly stupid she’d been to underestimate Hiashi’s information network. The conversation had been deep and long as they each took turns baring their souls and by the time Naruto and Sakura left, at almost three in the morning, they’d all cried at least once. 

Drunken heart to hearts rarely failed to build bridges.

 

* * *

 

“Shun-san, may I speak with you?” Lee asked his primary troublemaker a few minutes before his class was due to start, 

“What?”  


“You aren’t really keen on being here, are you?”

“What gave you that impression?” Shun mocked, 

“My only intention is to help you get better control of your chakra.”

“You mean suppress it?”

“No, Shun-san, I do not mean that, I sincerely want to help you learn how to control this new power you have; I am also learning.”

“What?”

“How to control my chakra.”

“…But you’re the one teaching us?” Shun said as if he was speaking to an idiot, 

“It might surprise you to hear this, but whilst I was an active shinobi, I’ve never had any chakra.”

“ _What?_ You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“No, Shun-san, I achieved my rank as Tokabetsu-Jounin through taijutsu alone, I have never been able to use any ninjutsu or genjutsu.”

“Is that true?” Another voice interrupted them, it was Seirra, another of Lee’s students, 

“Hai, Seirra-san.”

“Then… how come you were let into the academy?” She asked, not unkindly; all of his students had now gathered around them, their curiosities piqued,

“I don’t think they knew then that I was unable to wield chakra, I didn’t know then either, and when I learned that I would never be able to I despaired and almost quit the academy.” 

“Why didn’t you?” Sierra asked, 

“I’m surprised you weren’t booted out.” Shun spat, 

“Oh shut up.” Seirra shushed him,

“I stayed on at the academy because I decided to work hard — I was inspired to work hard, I was determined to be a shinobi and I found a way to do that by focusing on what I  _was_  able to do: taijutsu. Gai-sensei, who’d inspired me initially, became my Jounin instructor when I graduated from the academy and he always believed in me, he always supported my goals and helped me to achieve them, even if I lacked what everyone else had: chakra.” Lee patiently explained, as he took his seat on his mat and folded his legs, followed by his students, “I had been mocked and belittled a lot as an academy student and even through my years as a Gennin and Chuunin, from enemies and allies alike, but I knew I had the support and Gai-sensei and that meant that I never stopped supporting myself either, even when I came up against enemies I thought I would never be able to defeat. All I’d ever wanted was to be respected as a skilled shinobi and I believe that is what I’ve achieved, but I’ve never forgotten what it felt like to feel lacking or to feel powerless.

“None of you are powerless now, you never really were even without chakra, but now that you have it — as I do, for the first time in my life — you also now have a responsibility, whether you want to acknowledge it or not,” Lee glanced to Shun, “Just because you might be able to beat someone in a fight does not mean that you should go looking for fights or hurt others needlessly. Things have now changed, but ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ have not.” Lee looked around his class to find them all focused on him and silent, “We should begin today’s lesson, please close your eyes and feel your chakra, concentrate on it until it is calm and steady.”

 

* * *

 

The fog was thick and low, only the odd rain droplet grew large enough to break free and fall to the earth with a great splat, few were out and about at such an early hour and Suzuru was grateful for it. She cared not for her sodden clothes, or the encroaching damp into her shoes as she stood in the knee high grass that had grown thickly over her sister’s grave whilst she had slept on none the wiser. They had been twins and inseparable despite the fact everyone had seen them as polar opposites: Suzuru two minutes older, diligent and worried about everything and Ensei, artistic, friendly and blessed with chakra. Their parents had tried hard to dissuade her from following the path of a shinobi and stop Ensei from even demonstrating her talent for chakra in front of others and she had happily agreed, preparing to follow a life of the arts rather than battle.

But Ensei was a hot-headed dreamer and her emotions flowed through her as stronger than anyones and, after their mother had died, she got herself into a bar fight in which she best six men, four of whom had been shinobi. She’d been drafted in to fight off an attack against the Akatsuki having received lip-service training of a few short weeks, a pouch of kunai and a haitai-ate. Mist forces had been low for a long time and they knew war was drawing in, they hadn't the time to send people through the academy, had been the bullshit answer Suruzu had been given when asked; she'd been told that if Ensei had wanted training, she should have attended the academy program when she’d been of age. In other words, it was Ensei’s own fault for not being well enough trained to handle a mission.

 

Suruzu had cried bitter tears at the news of her sister’s death, a death she had not gone in search of and done her best to avoid throughout her short life. But it had been the trigger to Suzuru really looking at her life in Kiri, what a twisted, upside down system it had bred. Even after they changed from the old days of the Red Mist, their blood thirsty and callous natures had not been washed away so quickly. Most problems were settled with violence and little justice had been found for those wrongly killed; even after the Sixth Mizukage had taken over things hadn’t seemed to change that much for the better. Suzuru had never desired to become a shinobi nor morned her lack of chakra but as soon as news of Ensei’s death had reached her ears, she wanted nothing more from life than the ability to exact revenge on whomever it had been who sent her sister out there with no training and no hope of return just for the sake of saving his own skin.

Suzuru had never considered herself a vindictive person, but clearly she was; she’d immediately applied to work as an aide in the administration building and spent the months leading up to the war earning for herself a name: in her skill, her organisation, quick wit and reliability. Good thing for her, Mist ninja tended to miss what was right in front of their noses. Though it was probably a product of being perpetually short sighted by barreling fog: they looked long at every opportunity. But then the Fourth War had come and before she could strike into motion her own plans, some strange sentient plant had come and snatched her from reality. 

 

“Suzu?” A voice drew her from her thoughts, 

“Etsuko? What are you doing up at this time?”

“I was going to ask you the same question… it’s barely five am and at least I have a reason, I’m off fishing.”

“You better be quick or all the best spots will soon be taken.”

“I know, but you weren’t there when I woke up and I was worried, you’ve seemed so… stressed lately and I know you aren’t sleeping well.”

“I’m fine, Etsuko, I really am; I just had a weird dream and couldn’t get back to sleep again.” Suzuru finally turned around to face her old friend, “You should get going, I’ll make some tea for when you get back.” 

Etsuko offered a small smile, “Okay, see you in a few hours.” And she was gone; they’d been friends since childhood, but not even Etsuko knew of what Suzuru had been planing for all those long years and some part of her hadn’t wanted to drag her friend into it. She wanted no implication on Etsuko nor for there to be any reason for her to fall under suspicion. But Etsuko was as strong willed as any and had not let Suzuru withdraw from her. Even after she’d tried to end the friendship, Etsuko had just marched right into her home, helped herself to the leftovers from dinner and chatted about her day as if nothing had happened. 

 

Suzuru walked herself slowly home, resisting the urge to scrub at her irritated eyes; as wary as she’d been to awaken and realise that she had been granted the power that her sister had died for, her eyes had begun to itch and ache quickly after, as if there was some infernal particle of grit lodged in them. Not enough to cause her pain, but just enough to blur her vision and break her concentration at vital moments. But still, she now had her chakra and put as much time of her day into practicing as she was able, or rather, as much time at night as she was able: she had no intention of making the same error that her sister had. So she worked in admin during the day and practiced her chakra at night; her long years of training her mental discipline had given her a strong head start and inside a week she’d grasped the basics of sensing her chakra and directing it around her body. The only small hitch was that everyone knew everyone had chakra now and getting her hands on any instructional notes would not be easy.

But at least it was  _everyone_  and she wasn’t singled out alone and for the craftily constructed image of an honest civilian that she’d steadily carved over the years, it was all too easy to pretend that she was just as afraid of what her new powers meant as everyone else. 

 

..

.

 

_ A/n - I had intended a much longer segment for Suzuru here, but it made more sense to divide it up a little and give you a chance to get used to her! XD _


	13. Chapter 13

 

 

 

 

Hinata awoke to blazing sunshine singeing her retinas, her stomach violently rolling and feeling like she had a half-chewed cactus stuck in her mouth. She gratefully picked up the half-full glass of water Ino had thoughtfully (if sloppily) placed at her bedside and drank a few slow sips to avoid further upsetting her stomach. It took her a moment to realise that the worst of the weight that had settled in her chest for the past several weeks had lessened a little, as if it had all come rushing out along with her words and her tears the evening prior. Some of it was still there and, Hinata suspected, would never truly leave, but on this morning, it had lessened enough that she felt able to get out of bed and tackle the shower she’d been putting off for several long days. The hot water felt good on her sweaty skin and she felt as if she were scrubbing her mind of the worried, cyclical thoughts which had been buzzing in her head for what felt like months. She’d soon dried and dressed in actual clothes and was just as quickly out of the bathroom and in the kitchen where she set the kettle to boil for tea and wondered where Ino was, it was already past eleven am.

“‘Ornin’… hey you’re dressed!” The woman herself appeared, looking far worse for wear, her hair was a huge bird’s nest and her pyjamas were all askew, 

“Morning, hungover?”

“So, so hungover, think I hurled three times last night, ugh. How’re you?”

“Like crap, but… better.” Hinata said, pouring out two mugfuls of tea, “I mean, better than I did yesterday.” She handed one to Ino,

“Really? That’s great! It was about time you got all that off your chest, no wonder you’ve been so down. Thanks.”

“Yeah… it just felt so hard to articulate, if that makes any sense?”

“Kami-sama I wish there was coffee!” Ino took a hesitant sip of her boiling tea, “Yeah, I think it does, like you just needed some time to get it all straightened out in your head, you know the gist of what happened and why but its just not ready to come out… like a cake that isn’t quite cooked.”

“Yeah, yeah! Exactly!” Hinata agreed, almost surprised by how accurate Ino had been, “I mean, it’s not like I’m magically cured, but…”

“You’re out of bed, washed and dressed, I’d call that a pretty damn good start. But don’t feel you have to push yourself, you can stay here as long as you need to, Hinata, take you time to get yourself back together again and find some new focus.”

“Like what?” It wasn’t quite a snap, but it was in no way Hinata’s natural timbre, 

“I—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it, I just meant that taking over the clan has been the only thing you’ve thought about for weeks, now. It’s okay to think about other things for a while.” Ino said awkwardly, it wasn’t quite how she meant it come out and the frown steadily growing on Hinata’s face cemented it, 

“I’m not going to just give up!”

“Of course you shouldn’t and that’s not what I’m saying, I just mean, it’s okay to put it on the back-burner for a little while until you’re really ready… it would help to fool Hiashi into thinking you’re not a threat anymore, right?” Hinata didn’t answer, “But, hey, let’s not worry about that, why don’t you go for a walk? The sun looks nice today and some fresh air might be good. I’d happily go with you, but I think I need to lie down for a bit longer first.”  
“No, it’s okay, I think I should probably go out.”

 

Before Hinata knew where the hell she was going, she’d found herself among the decaying deciduous trees of the great forest of Fire that surrounded Konoha, the last stubborn hold-outs having a few ruddy leaves clinging precariously onto their stalks despite the persistent wintery breeze. Hinata knew how they must feel.Everything — walking, eating, thinking, talking — all felt so agonisingly difficult, simple in her head but the second she tried to effect any of them, they just turned to mush in her hands, or gibberish on the tip of her tongue. She sat down on a fallen tree to rest her legs, she’d only been walking for fifteen or so minutes but already she felt exhausted, she couldn’t possibly be so unfit after a barely two weeks of sleep… could she? She hadn’t even felt this tired after being wrested from the clutches of the tree after some six months of inactivity.She broke off a long, thin branch from the trunk, finding it supple; it might have still been alive but Hinata could not see what good it could accomplish still tied to a dead tree. 

She had been tethered to a tree, free and then became responsible for its death but her she later was, freed from a good many shackles but somehow feeling evermore trapped. Those words she had spoken to Sakura several months ago now felt like a hollow mockery, wedged in her memory simply to remind her of what an ignorant upstart she was. She had tried to forge herself a new future but had been cut off from everything, no long could she see fresh opportunity when she looked at the world, but rather the broken and smouldering Konoha, offering no shelter or promise of fortune but for a long, desperate slog that was far more likely to claim lives than it was to bless them.

She rose to her feet and continued her wandering, feeling her breathing ease the longer she spent in the trees and away from the eyes and ears of others. The constant pushing of Ino and Sakura, telling her to go to Shizune for an appointment with the hospital therapist had done nothing but drive her away, she would be fine in a few weeks! She just needed to get out of this… whatever it was… Hell, even awaking and realising that Iruka no longer existed or that she was no longer pregnant hadn’t upset her this badly. Why hadn’t it? Hinata felt the sting in her eyes as she wondered just how bad a mother she must have been if she hadn’t been that sad to lose her child. 

But Iruka never really existed, had he? Yiro, on the other hand, had been a real, living breathing person whose life had been robbed from him… but she clearly remembered every detail of Iruka’s life, his first steps, his first words, the strangling worry when he’d fallen sick for the first time and giddy happiness she felt at hearing his laugher as Naruto threw him in the air. But she could only  _remember_  those feelings, she didn’t feel them now. What was wrong with her? She had no idea how long she’d been stood out in the woods by herself, but a sudden voice shook her from her daydream.

 

“H-Hinata-sama?” It was Ryutsa, “Hinata-sama! I’ve been so worried about you, how are you? After Hiashi-sama threw you out… we…” He hurriedly bowed deeply to her, 

“Ryutsa-san?”

“We are all so sorry Hinata-sama! There were so many of us prepared to help you take over leadership from Hiashi-sama, but we must have been careless and allowed him or one of his supporters to hear what we were planning!” He bowed again,

“It’s just what happened, Ryutsa-san. It was definitely my fault for being so stupid in the first place.”

“No, Hinata-sama, we all truly believed that you would make a great clan leader and that you would truly have done what you could to improve things for the clan members and branch house members.” Ryutsa pushed, “We are all hoping that when you regain your strength you will try again and succeed.”

“What are things like now? In the clan?” Hinata found the question had left her tongue before she could think better of it,

“Hiashi-sama was very displeased at the turn of events… he has been very strict with us.”

“I’m sorry, Ryutsa-san—”

“HInata-sama, please try again! You will find that you have a lot of support within the branch house, even more than before, because of how Hiashi had been ruling the clan lately. He has been determined that there will be no more rebellions. Things are… not good.”

Hinata took a deep breath tying to control the emotions barrelling around inside her chest, “I’m so sorry I only managed to make things worse for you all… it was the exact opposite of what I wanted.”

“I know, HInata-sama, we all know that… but there is a lot of hope that you generated and because you are still alive, people have kept hold of it. Hinata-sama, we all miss Yiro-san, he was a beloved friend and clan-mate and we do not want to see his sacrifice be made in vain. We want to see that… that…”

“That my Father pays the price for murdering him?”

“H-hai.”

“I want to, Ryutsa-san, I don’t want to leave things the way they ended, but how can I risk more of your lives?”

“Hinata-sama, we want a better life in the clan and we are prepared to fight for it.” Ryutsa urged and Hinata looked at him for a good long while, feeling her emotions ebb and swirl, feeling the tears prick at her eyes — through from what exactly she wasn’t sure — 

“I will Ryutsa-san… I won’t leave you all there… I just, need some time… to, to get myself back together again.”

“Hai, Hinata-sama, I understand.”

“Find me again, Ryutsa-san, I promise I’ll get better… I  _have_  to.”

 

* * *

 

Ino knocked on the door a couple of times before she just barged right in, “Gai? Are you awake?” She called out, quickly finding him sitting in his kitchen, “You don’t have to speak, Gai, I only came here to tell you a bunch of things that I’ve wanted to say for a while but you keep blowing me off. So I’m here, I’m going to say what’s on my mind and then I’ll leave you alone, okay?”

“I do not like you all bursting in here whenever you feel like it—” 

“Good. Gai, I want you to know just how amazing and valuable I found training with you to be, even if it was just in our heads; I’d never have imagined you could teach me so much about ninjutsu, about myself and the battlefield… and I’d never have imagined I could learn to love taijutsu as much as I do.You seemingly effortlessly instilled in me hope and a desire to be better than I ever had done before, none of my previous senseis had ever managed that. Gai, I don’t know if you realised it at the time, but you were the best sensei I ever had, you listened to me and took me as I was.” Ino walked close to him, into his line of vision and leaned against the counter behind her, “I never once felt lacking, inexperienced yes, but only in the sense that I had more to learn, you never once belittled me or insulted me or treated me like just another weak girl… you help me when I realised I hadn’t even  _needed_  help and Kami-sama, I am going to help you. You can’t live forever like this, you need some time to digest the changes of course, but, as you once said to me ‘it takes courage to realise things about ourselves that we are not proud of and to do our best to change them’. I know you have the courage, Gai, even if you can’t go back you  _can_  move forwards and Lee and I will be right there with you… as will the rest of the village.”

“I am trying to be positive, Ino, but I felt like I haven’t moved in days and all of my favourite places to meditate in Konoha are not accessible to wheel chairs. A shinobi’s duty is to be adaptable to change and take whatever comes, but I do not know who I am without the ability to walk and run and train.” Gai responded, finally looking up at her; his chin was completely obscured by the thick, wiry beard that any centurion would be proud of and he had deep bags beneath his dull eyes.

“Sakura told me something that Hinata had said to her, right after they first awoke, and it was about how we have all been given a second chance. A chance to live a completely new life from the ones we had before, to have new experiences and make different choices… we’ve already made those choices once which lead us to one outcome and here we are again with the chance to restart at the mid-way point. I wouldn’t have chosen it, as I was very happy in that Tsukikomi training with you and Chouji and working at Intel… but I’m hardly the worst off, either. And so are you, you’re still alive, Gai and you still have your mind… wasn’t your ethos always to put your absolute best into whatever you were doing? Regardless of how likely failure was? Please try again, Gai, there is still something new for you to discover and learn… if nothing else, it will stop me and Lee nagging you.” 

She heard him snort out a short breath of laughter, “I don’t see what there is for me to learn.”

“Who you are divorced from your past. There is always value in the reinvention of ourselves and just because we liked our previous version best, does not mean there will be nothing of value in our new incarnation.”

“When did you learn philosophy?”

“From listening to you.”

 

…

 

“Lee, do you have minute?” Ino called out as she jogged over to him,

“Oh, Ino, what’s up?” He’d just left his class,

“I was taking to Gai and I think I have an idea how to help him.”

“Oh? Did he talk to you? He’s still very, um, aggressive the last time I saw him.” Lee admitted, internally cringing at the last time he saw — and upset — his former sensei, 

“Yes, he wasn’t very impressed by my barging in to talk to him either, but I was sick of waiting.”

“Um, Ino—”

“I know, I know, but he did tell me something interesting, he said that all of his favourite meditation spots in Konoha weren’t wheelchair accessible.”

“…Okay..?”

Ino rolled her eyes with impatience, “So what if we build some ramps for him? In just a few places so that he can go back there when he wants to?”

“Oh-oh!” Lee finally cottoned on, “That’s a great idea! Then Gai sensei can start to feel normal again!”

“Exactly! I’m not much of a carpenter, though, do you know anyone who might be able to help us?”

“Hmm, there is one in my class who does work in rebuilding and construction, though I’m not sure how willing he would be to help us… he’s been slow to accept me as a teacher.”

“It’ll still be worth asking, even if he’d be willing to offer some tips… the last thing I want to build something half-assed that’s mockingly useless.”

“Right!” Lee struck his palm with his closed fist, “I will ask for Gai-sensei!”

“Great, I’ll start doing some research and see if I can find any other people to help us, we’ll meet next week — let me know what time’s best for you.”

“Hai, see you later, Ino.” Lee replied.

 

* * *

 

Tsunade leant back in her chair as she unrolled the scroll from Gaara,

 

_Godaime Hokage,_

_Tsunade-sama,_

_I trust things are well in Konoha; we have had some disturbing developments in Suna, all of our civilian population had have awoken from the Tree with the ability to knead chakra. There have been several minor instances of violence and disruption though nothing serious as of yet. I imagine Konoha is in a similar position and I am at a loss at to how best approach a solution; not everyone can be trained as shinobi and to do so would have far reaching consequences to the balance of power.I am concerned over what the other great nations might decide; although we fought under a single banner under the threat of Otsutsuki, there is no such unifying motivation now. I fear I must act fast to unify Suna and solidify any loyalties the civilian population before any might take it upon themselves to leave, though I am unsure as to what would be the right move._

_Please let me know if you have found any effective arrangements or agreements._

_Gaara_

_Yondaime Kazekage_

 

“No, is the short answer, Gaara.” Tsunade muttered to herself as she set the scroll back on her desk; she was not surprised by the news that Suna was facing the same problems as Leaf, though she was disappointed to have confirmation of it. The letter had been dated a week or so back, so high had been the backlog of letters and orders and correspondence that tsunade was slowly wading through. Without the inherent strata that shinobi and civilians created, and the excess numbers of those wanting to be shinobi vs those needed to fill the civilian jobs was the largest point of contention. What happened if many simply refused and chose to leave Konoha? Could they be looking at the destruction of the ninja-villages? How was it even in Tsunade’s rights to tell people what careers they could or could not pursue? 

Even though she planned to opened extra class for those who wished to become ninja, the rigorous selection process she had planned had an equal chance of creating further animosity. But she had to do something, she was running out of time to think about this problem and the longer she sat on it the more difficult it would be to rectify. Before she could reach for her pen, Shizune opened the door, 

“Tsunade-sama, you have a visitor, Mifune-sama is here to see you.” 

“Mifune?” Tsunade rose to her feet as the General bowed to Shizune and walked into the room, 

“Good afternoon, Tsunade-sama,” He bowed low to her and she returned, 

“Mifune-sama, it had been a long time… or so it seems.” Tsunade gestured to the chair opposite her desk and he took a seat, 

“Indeed, a good deal had happened in a short space of time. Konoha seems to be recovering well.”

“Appearances, Mifune-sama,” She took a seat herself, “Tensions are high and the civilians feel restless.”

“A common theme; I have spent the past month or so visiting the great nations, and they each tell a similar tale, we must find a way to restore order and balance in a way that suits as many as possible. The old shinobi systems will no longer work and we must be careful not to stoke the flames of war.”

“I certainly agree with you, Mifune-sama, but I’m not sure what I can realistically recommend.”

“What have you been doing so far?”

“Other make thorough records, I have ordered regimens of meditation for the hottest-headed, but it is at best a stop-gap.”

Mifune nodded, “Still a good start, I have brought with me a platoon* of my samurai to help you train your civilians in the way of chakra, but not, necessarily to become a fighting force.”

“Oh?” Tsunade leaned forwards to rest her arms on her desk, 

“The civilian population will need direction and training both to help secure Konoha and to cool tensions; and I have decided that the best way we can accomplish this if they are trained by a neutral force who are highly skilled in chakra but are not ninja.”

“Sounds like an excellent idea. What will the end goal of this be, though, Mifune-sama? To teach them simply to understand and wield their chakra? To be a fighting force in desperate times in support of the ninja? Or simply to instil a sense of loyalty and cohesion?”

“A little of all, as well as my samurai I have brought a handful of my chakra wielding civilians who have developed some very interesting jutsu over the years.”

“I was not aware that the Land of Iron had anyone, let alone civilians, who were capable of using ninjutsu?”

Mifune offered a sly smile, “Well, it has not been something I’ve been keen to advertise and almost none of my samurai are capable of utilising their chakra into a ninjutsu — not to mention that our focus is on the sword and associated techniques — so not a great deal of our focus goes into chakra and its development. But many of my civilians have turned their focus, and was such their skills, to things other than fighting.”

“Such as?”

“Agriculture, medicine and construction, but to name a few.”

“Agriculture? How? In what way?” Tsunade asked, finding herself leaning forwards in her chair in an subconscious expression of her curiosity. 

“The Land of Iron has very harsh terrain and climate and for many years we could barely grow enough crops to sustain our relatively small population, but over time, we learned how to grow and strengthen our crops by feeding them chakra, or how to help them survive and continue growing even though the winter months.”

“Astonishing, I hadn’t though it was possible.”

“It isn’t for many people, it is a difficult skill to learn, but I am hopeful that the lure of learning a prized and valuable skill with help your people to realise there is more to chakra than becoming a shinobi.”

“So do I, I am sincerely grateful that you are willing to share these techniques with us, Mifune-sama.”

“Ah, don’t thank me, it is Ashima-san who has agreed to teach that which she knows to a select group of women… she is very stubborn about this. But luckily Heitobana-san, Izumi-san and Tsunoko-san are a good deal more relaxed and will happily teach a small class each to anyone demonstrating the right aptitude.”

They didn’t  _sound_  all that much more relaxed but Tsunade resisted the urge to say so, “That is excellent news, Mifune-sama, I am very grateful that you are here. I imagine that you and your people would like to rest after your long travels?”

“Hai, Tsunade-sama, some of our group are quite elderly.”

“I will have rooms made available to you all. I assume you will like to be begin as soon as possible? First thing in the morning?”

“Indeed we will, if you can call all the non-shinobi into a central place and from there I will explain to them what will happen and what they need to do.”

“Very well.”

 

Finally, it seemed, things were looking up.

 

* * *

 

“Ohayo-gozimasu, Suzuru-san.” Yuyouu, her colleague greeted with a large goofy grin and his bushy blond hair as uncombed as always; he wasn’t a defiant sort of person but it seemed that no force on heaven nor earth could tame his hair into anything other than a bird’s nest. He blamed it on the humidity and within month of his working at the department, even his senior’s had grown tired of chastising him on it and let it be.

“Ohayo,” She answered politely back, 

“Have you heard about today?”

“No..?”

“They’re testing everyone’s chakra! They’re going to let everyone above a certain level train as ninja!” He said excitedly, “Chikotoru-sampai told me about it a few minutes ago, he said we’re all supposed to be at the academy for the test.”

“What if we don’t want to go?” 

“Why wouldn’t you? This is our chance to get out of this crummy desk job! But, also, Chikotoru-sampai did say it was mandatory.” He said, rummaging in one of the cupboards for a mug, “Coffee?”

“Sure; I don’t get how they’re going to offer those jobs to so many people… if we all leave who will do this job? Or run the restaurants? Or build houses? It just sounds stupid.”

“Hmm, well, I think they’re going to be strict about it but its still kind of exciting, right? Like we get a second chance at life!” Yuyouu was clearly excited but Suzuru had to fight from saying the first things which sprang to her mind about  _how Ensei and the others killed who really deserved the second chance_ and about how  _Mist was only offering this because of how much they hated their civilian population, regardless of the work they did_. They were interrupted before she had to find something to reply with.

 

“Suzuru-san and Yuyouu-san please come with me,” Chikotoru said as he walked up to them, he wasn’t much older, perhaps five years, but he had the countenance of someone in his eighties; he suffered no fools and definitely did not spoil the child, but he was honest and hard working, a rare combination in Kirigakure. The two rose to their feet and followed him out of the building and down the short streets over to the academy building; it was too late now to think of any decent excuses, or to be mysteriously absent when they’d called for them. Damnit, playing the buffoon was all she could do now. There was a group of about thirty of them all from the administrative jobs in the Admin building or from the hospital, crammed into the academy test hall, along with ten or so Hunter Nin in full gear leaning against the walls of the hall and a jounin. Every civilian looked slightly nervous and every shinobi looked rather bored. She tried to ignore how the dry atmosphere tickled and gnawed at her eyes as well as her nerves whist constant new worries crept into her head. There were several nin she didn’t recognise —  _could any of them be sensor types?_  She hadn’t seen that Kiri had any, based on the records she’d handled, but then, she wouldn’t be trusted with anything conducted by the Hunter Nin.

“You five please step forwards. You five go with Hitoru-san, and you remaining split into a two even groups.” One of the nin said, gesturing as he did so; Suzuru tried to keep as low a profile as she was able. The nin walked over to the their group as the other ten left the room, he handed out blindfolds to Suzuru’s group, “Put these on.”

“W-wait, hold on,” Yuyouu interrupted, anxiety colouring his tone, “how is this not an unfair advantage to them? You’re just gonna let them beat us up?” A cruel smirk danced over the shinobi’s lips, 

“You have chakra now, you should be able to defend yourselves… to some degree at least, or have you just been sitting around for all these weeks doing nothing?” Yuyouu opened his mouth to reply, though no words were forth coming and the nin didn’t wait for him to think of one, “Blindfolds on! Now!” 

As soon as she pulled the cloth taught across her eyes, the itching stopped, the gentle pressure afforded by the blindfold brought Suzuru the first taste of relief from her aggravations in weeks. She let out a quiet breath of relief as the shinobi spoke again:

“For every one of them that you manage to take down — using chakra — you will have earned yourself a place at the academy. Do not kill them, you should be aiming only to incapacitate them so that they cannot fight back.” His voice sounded quite distant and before he’d finished speaking, someone grabbed her arm and she felt the weight of something metal pressed into her palm. Her other hand rose to better inspect the item which tuned out to be a kunai,

“It’s sharp.” A voice whispered to her, though whether he was trying to be helpful or insulting, Suzuru couldn’t quite tell from his tone of voice.

“Begin!” The voice was so loud and sudden that she started slightly,

“What? They’ve got kunai?” A voice called, 

“Silence! No more speaking or it will result in automatic disqualification!” 

 

_Fucking Kiri! Why is everything some sick, physiological test in this stupid village?_  Suzuru thought, her irritation flaring as she took a few steps backwards, straining her ears to hear her impromptu enemy’s footsteps. Though moving in this situation was almost as useless as staying still—

“Urghhh!” A sudden strangled groan drew her attention as she could feel her chakra spike on instinct, her head whipping around to the source of the noise only to realise that she could  _see_. She saw the outline of Yuyouu lying on the floor, his red chakra flowing quickly and chaotically through his system as Daisuke stood over him, his own chakra significantly weaker and blue but he had the advantage. Wei was advancing fast on her, she could see his brilliant blue chakra gathering to his hands it was probably just meant to be a push, but she gave into instinct and dropped to a crouch, easily though narrowly avoiding his hands and she slashed out in front of her in a careless arc. She felt the blade make contact and Wei yelp in pain; a few of the observing shinobi made noises of approval. Shit.

She rose back to her feet and hurried away a few staggered steps, trying to hide the fact she could see the entire room with ease, and into the next where the other two groups were playing an entirely different game, which looked to be of some obstacle course. The people around her though were busied at a standoff, those blindfolded slashing viciously with their kunai and those without trying to figure out how to get their chakra in contact with their targets. Wei was again advancing on her, though clearly now more wary, Suzuru needed to stay calm and not give in to her instinct again… but how? It was too difficult not to flinch at the sight on incoming pain and she couldn’t  _not_  see him… she could see  _everything_  around her.

“This lot are pathetic,” One of nin muttered, “They all look like frightened rabbits, they’ll never cope in the field.”

“Silence!”

Suzuru dropped to another crouch and stabbed out with her kunai, copying what she’d done earlier and they lost interest in her,  _good!_   _That gives me something, I can’t get careless here!_  She instinctively looked around the room at the enemy force and the two of her team still standing,  _crap, crap_  she threw in a few extra over the top head movements in the hopes of just looking like an idiot. But she had clearly garnered some attention as she saw their instructor-nin gesturing to the others which all lined the wall; they each began reaching for kunai of their own. Wei and three others were still encroaching on her; three of them were water types but the fourth, the one who’d felled Yuyouu, was of a fire nature… not that it would make too much difference here, none of them had used any ninjutsu or elemental chakra at this point and it was unlikely that they even knew what it was. But before she could make a decision, she saw the incoming kunai and couldn’t stop herself bracing for the impact that never came, all six of them flew harmlessly past her and each thunked into the wall behind her. Except for one, which lay harmlessly at her feet.

“Stop there. Remove your blindfolds.” The nin bellowed as he marched over to Suzuru, who couldn’t bring herself to move just yet, he grabbed her and she tried to flinch away but he was far too strong and in a moment her blindfold was ripped off her head. 

The sudden brightness against her eyes was such a sensory overload that she blinked fiercely for a few minutes, what she had seen with the blindfold had felt like full vision but it was nothing compared to what she could see without it. The jounin twisted her face towards his and stared emotionlessly into her eyes for a few seconds.

“Just like Ensei-chan.” 

 

* * *

 

Hinata’s sleep had been stressful and broken, her mind conjuring half-imagined futures and false memories joined on to real ones until eventually she’d awoken at some ungodly hour of the morning, scrambling to get out of bed. 

“Iruka! Iruka where are you?” She found herself shouting, panicking as to why she’d been alone in bed, “Iruka!” She wrenched open her door to find Ino stood in the corridor rubbing her eyes, 

“Hey, why are you shouting at three in the morning? What’s happening?”

“Where’s Iruka?” Hinata asked, 

“Iruka? Hinata… that was under the Infinite Tsukikomi, remember? He doesn’t exist…” Ino clarified gently, taking in the panicked look in Hinata’s face, though it slowly faded as her memories came back to her, 

“I… right… of course.” She lifted a shaking hand to her mouth, “I—I thought, I’d completely forgotten, I suddenly awoke thinking I could hear him crying…” 

“Hinata, I’m sorry.” Ino pulled her into a hug, “It’s okay, it was just a nightmare, you’re in my apartment, remember?”

“Yes, yeah, I do… I’m sorry, Ino, I’m sorry for waking you up.” 

“It’s fine, really, are you going to be okay?”

Hinata glanced nervously back at her room, “Uh. yeah, I will, you should go back to sleep.”

“C’mon.” Ino grabbed her hand and led her into her room, “Just stay with me tonight, you look too freaked out,” Ino gestured to her bed and climbed in, “C’mon then, I have to be up in a few hours.” Hinata hesitated a second longer before she climbed in the other side. Ino slid up next to her, leaning her head against Hinata’s shoulder and sliding an arm over her stomach; Hinata lay paralysed in surprise at the alien touch for a moment, though she soon relaxed at the warmth and safe company. As strong as Ino was her body felt soft against her, her touch was warm and comforting but did not overstep its boundary; Hinata felt no threat or encroachment and was asleep before she knew it.

 

..

 

.


	14. Chapter 14

  _Have you ever come to realisation that you’re not nearly as self-aware as you think you are? >.>_

 

 

“Now listen here, you old hag, I’ve been farming in Konoha for almost fifty years and it’s not always been easy! Are you seriously trying to tell me that you won’t help me just because you don’t like the look of me?” 

“Not at all, it’s because you’re a man and I swore off dealing with men decades ago. Fetch me your daughters and I will teach them what I know and if they then choose to teach you, so be it.” Ashima barked back, her aged appearance belying her strength of character; before the man, Ereji, could think of an adequate retort, Mifune interrupted,

“Any women wishing to learn from Ashima-san, please gather to your left, anyone, male or female, please gather in the middle for Tsunoko-san and right for Heitobana-san.”

“If they get a girls’ group, why don’t we get a men-only group?” Ereji tried his luck again,

“You men made the whole world your ‘men-only’ group! And now you’re being asked to share for the first time you start crying? Grow the hell up, you looked like you’ve lived long enough years to figure out how!” Ashima answered for him as she hobbled off the dais and made her way over to group of women, some of whom looked decidedly nervous to be under the instruction of such aa short-fused old woman.

“Is everyone here that wants to be? Yes? Good, then let’s go.” She asked in a single breath before marching off down the street to the nearest area of open ground.

 

“All right, all of you were civilians with no chakra up to the point of being captured by the Tree, yes?” Ashima asked, receiving nods in return, “Then please tell, what have you heard about the capabilities of chakra, outside of a combat capacity?” 

“Medical ninjutsu?” One young woman, Rio, said after a distinctive pause, 

“Yes, good, any others?” She asked again though the group was no more forthcoming; Ashima shook her head, “How Konoha ever got to the height it did is beyond me. I can use chakra for a great many things but my specialty is agriculture,” Ashima’s hands flickered through the seals and withdrew a large cube of soil from the earth; it hung there between Ashima and the group for several minutes. Her handseals changed again as she widened her stance, the group of women looked on, amazed as they suddenly noticed the earth moving and crumbling, flourishes of greenery appeared and grew before their very eyes until the entire block of earth looked like nothing more than a floating bush. Ashima relaxed her stance as the earth fell with a splat back to the ground, she grabbed a handful of greenery and tugged free a large, nobbled carrot, “How about that for chakra, eh?”

“Wow!”

“I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“A… are they real? Edible?” One of the youngest of the group, Kota, asked and Ashima tossed the carrot at her, 

“You tell me,” She nodded, “Take a bite.” The young woman looked hesitantly around for a few minutes, receiving their affirmation nor disagreement, “Go on, a bit of dirt won’t kill you.” She eventually took the end off with the satisfying  _crack_ of a truly fresh carrot. “Good, tasty, isn’t it?” Ashima asked and received an enthusiastic nod in return, “You can accelerate growth like this for any vegetable or fruit, so long as you understand it well enough, I’m very fond of carrots and I devised a special jutsu to grow them from nothing, in any patch of earth. The more chakra you devote to each individual fruit or vegetable, the faster it will grow, of course, if you are intending to grow enough to sell some on, then you will have to spread your chakra more thinly — not unlike manure — over a wide area so the acceleration will not be anywhere near as pronounced as this little example, but instead of getting a single crop out of a season, you will be able to get as many as three or four crops per season.” 

“Won’t that damage the earth? So much forced growth like that?” Rio asked,

“I see that there are some brains in Konoha after all,” Ashima grinned again, “If you’re force-growing without the addition of chakra then yes, you would ruin the earth after a single summer, but the injection of chakra that you’re using is especially recomposed to include as many of the major nutrients and sugars that the plant needs — that’s where the bit about understanding your veggies comes in — so that you’re preserving as much of the goodness of the earth as you can! You’re not here to learn how to be farmers, ladies, you’re here to learn how to become chakra scientists!”

“But I hated science in school.” Kota whined, 

“Now don’t start that, I’ll bet you only think you hated because you had a teacher that made you think you were stupid.”

“No,” Kota mumbled, “just stupid… and it was boring.”

“None of that!” Ashima replied sharply, “I won’t accept any self-derision in this class! You are here to learn and that is all you need to focus on, what you think about yourself or you abilities is meaningless, all you need concern yourself with in this class is how well you understand the material. If you do not understand, tell me and I will explain it as many times as you need. There is no shame here, we’re all women and we’re all here to learn from each other.”

“What could you learn from  _us?_ ” Rio asked,

“Your culture, your customs… and any good brewing recipes if you have them, I once had the best beer of my life here, about forty years ago from a small family which made their own… ooh what was it called?” She rubbed a hand over her forehead in an attempt to recall, “Oh yes! Fire Dragon that was it!” 

“Fire Dragon? My dad used to drink that stuff.” Kota answered, forgetting her earlier malaise, “But I never saw it in any of the shops… come to think of it.”

“Well then, Kota, I think you and I are going to become very good friends!”

 

* * *

 

“Morning, Kakashi.” Sakura said as she walked into the room, there wasn’t much point whilst he was in a coma, but it felt far too odd to say nothing; 

“‘Orning.” He groan back, startling her,

“Holy shit! You’re awake! How are you? How do you feel? Is this the first time you’ve woken up or was it sometime in the night?” She asked at once, hurrying to his bedside and retrieving the small penlight from her pocket, 

“Uhh, okay… I guess.” Kakashi merely groaned again at the barrage of questions, 

“Sorry, you don’t have to answer all at once,” She shined the light into his right eye which responded as it should and the rinnegan gave no discernible change; but Sakura had no idea if that was normal or not. “Thirsty?” She asked, pouring him out a fresh glass from the jug at his bedside, he took a small sip through his wiry brush of a beard; 

“I’ve never seen you with a beard, this is definitely a first.” She remarked, received a playful scowl from him,

“Hate it… itchy.” Sakura was tempted to make some sort of comment on how it aged him, but thought better of teasing him the instant he’d awoken. “Ow long?” He changed the subject, his voice still a little scratchy,

“Little over a month, you collapsed right after we defeated her… lucky in a way, you didn’t have to deal with all of the Tsuchikage’s grumbling.” Sakura rolled her eyes, “Did you wake up at any point during the night?”

“Don’t think so. Just about an hour ago, but I think I fell asleep again.”

“Probably, I’m sure you feel exhausted, though I was expecting you to be out for a little longer, to be honest. You were saying that the rinnegan drains you more than the sharingan did, right?”

“I think so, but I think its more similar to the mangekyou, it is a higher level technique… but I only had just over a week to practice with it, so I might just have still been in the adjustment period; after I first awakened the mangekyou, I was exhausted after only a single use for about a month.”

“Really? I don’t remember seeing you around the hospital all that much back then? Not that you’ve ever been one for going to the hospital.” 

“Ah, not bad that it would put me in a coma, but it would wipe me out from the day’s training.”

“I thought you were on a lot of missions in that time? I don’t recall seeing you more than once or twice in those two years?” 

“Hai, Tsunade-sama did send me on some long missions back then, but she was aware of my work with the sharingan andgave me what time off that she could around those missions—now?” Kakashi asked, a smiled pulling at his lips and Sakura pulled the bed cover off him, 

“Don’t be stupid, I need to test your reflexes.” That wiped the smirk off his face, “We can test the rest later, once you’re back home.” She grinned, “I was planning to at least let you get home from the hospital.”

“Mou, Sakura, I thought you liked it in the morning?” He asked with a cheeky grin as he let Sakura manhandle him through the usual checks.

“You’ve been out for a month in what cannot be called ‘sleep’ and it’s almost three in the afternoon, have  _some_  shame, Kakashi!”

“Hahaha.” He laughed, but he was not completely up to full strength, although his physical injuries had healed, his chakra was still recovering and most likely would still need a week or two until he felt back up to full strength. To Kakashi’s perception his vision was slightly better than his mangekyou, but it was an entirely different eye; how quickly and how severely it would deteriorate was difficult to say. Sakura made a note of the effects on Kakashi and his current state of health (all things said, pretty good) and all there was to do for now, was enjoy having him back. 

“Do I get a kiss now?” He asked as soon as she returned the chart to the foot of his bed, 

“No, because you will most definitely have the worst morning breath ever, however, I did pack you a little kit a few weeks ago with a toothbrush, shave and wash kit. You’ll have to wait for some clothes I’m afraid, but I'll bring some to you when you're ready to be released.” She looked at the plaintiff look on his face and nonetheless leaned down to press a short kiss to lips, "Yeah, you definitely need to get rid of that beard!" 

 

* * *

 

Suzuru had been alone in the interrogation cell for what had felt like hours, she’d been led away by two of the hunter nin before the ‘test’ had even been declared over and moved quickly into the Intel department. She should have tried to escape, fuck she should had kept her wits and  _not_  given herself away in the first place.  _You’re such a fucking idiot!_   _No, calm down! What had he said about Ensei? Had she known about the eye technique?_  Suzuru had no idea, Ensei had never mentioned anything and she’d never seemed to have some mystical insight… though she had always known when Suzuru was about to knock on her door, and always seemed to know when something wasn’t right. The deadbolt on the door suddenly snapped, the door was pulled open and a surprisingly young looking blond haired man with only one ear and a large ugly scar covering where the other would have been. He was flanked by the same nin who’d run the earlier test.

“Good afternoon, Suzuru-san, I apologise for keeping you, but your records were harder than expecting to track down. I am Hitaou Shin.” His voice was amiable and he had an easy smile on his face as he took the seat opposite her and placed two files between them. “I think you really surprised everyone back there, even if Satou-sampai won’t admit it.” He grinned conspiratorially at her, though seemed entirely unbothered when she gave him no response. He picked up the first file and began to read, 

“Kobayashi Suzuru, twenty four years old, daughter to Kobayashi Kotaru (civilian, deceased) and Isana Miyako (civilian, missing, presumed deceased)—”

“Wait, missing? I was told she was dead.” Suzuru cut across unable to restrain her instinctive question, Shin glanced over the top of the file and raised an eyebrow, 

“Glad to hear you’re listening. Sister to Kobayashi Ensei (shinobi, deceased). No chakra, no special abilities. Employed in the administration building as a file clerk.” He closed the file and dropped it carelessly onto the table, where it slid dangerously close to the edge, “Nothing interesting in that one, let’s see what this one says.” And he picked up the second file, “Ah, here we go, why don’t you take a look at this.” He placed the file down and slid it over to her, “Go on, I promise it’s quite interesting.”

 

_The Futusatome Clan_

_Founding: Unknown, rose to prominence during Warring States period._

_Status: Bloodline ended during Yondaime Mizukage’s era._

_Special Abilities: Kekkei Genkai Doujutsu; the ‘Subete Miru’ allowing users to see though physical objects, see the chakra and charka nature of opponents, create barriers around the user impenetrable to physical attacks and ninjutsu._

_Last Known Members: One primary family: Futusatome Naga (Head), Weiju Satome (married in), Offspring: Yana (female, eldest), Mizuki (female, middle, twin) Hana (female, middle, twin), Haru (male, youngest). All deceased._

 

“Do you recognise that?” Shin pointed to the drawing of an eye, the sclera was entirely black with sharp red lines emanating from the pupil, like the burst of a firework.

“…No.”

“You should, you have those eyes and so did your sister.” Satou growled, 

“I had no idea about Ensei and who exactly was I supposed to know what my own eyes looked liked like in the middle of a test with a fucking blindfold on?” Suzuru snapped, her anger suddenly welling in her, 

“Don’t speak to me like that!” Satou shot back,

“Now, now, we all need to cool our tempers,” Shin cut across, “We’re here to ascertain information not start a fight, Satou-sampai. Suzuru-san, there is clearly something you’re not telling us.”

“All I know is that my family is dead, one of them directly thanks to you and your selfish choices.”

“Ensei was highly skilled with her chakra… it was just a shame that it turned out she had dirty blood—”

“Satou! That is not acceptable language anymore, Kirigakure is no longer the village of the Blood Mist and we no longer persecute those possessing a kekkei genkai.” Shin cut across sharply before turning back to her, “You never had any idea about your sister? Didn’t you think it was strange that she managed to defeat six fully grown men in a brawl? Neither of your parents worked as shinobi, but did you never get an inkling that you had this kind of bloodline? Did you meet your grandparents? Or any of your parents’ siblings?” Shin asked a multitude of questions without pausing for breath, 

“No. I didn’t and I never met any of my extended family, my parents never even mentioned that they had any.” Suzuru did her best to keep her voice even, sensing that she was getting boxed into a corner and it was only a matter of time before she put a foot wrong and they had her. If she really was the inheritor of the Subete Miru, a kekkei genaki that for generations the upper echelonsof Mist had considered a good enough reason to see her killed. 

Shin smiled a much-too-genuine smile, “Why don’t we give you a bit of time to think it over, Satou, will you ensure Suzuru-san gets home safely?”  _What? Home?_   _What?_  Shin rose to his feet, gathered up the files and was gone before she could think to hide the surprise on her face. Satou stared at her until she found her feet and frogmarched her to the front door, the corridor was exactly as empty and cold as when she’d been brought in, but the reprieve of conversation had brought the moment into greater focus. There were many people in the building, hiding in unseen rooms and passed-by crawl spaces, some waiting to strike and some waiting for the release of death. She could feel the tension, the building both quivered with the force and was held together by it; with every step the air grew thicker, Satou breathed a little louder and the corridor stretched inexorably ahead. 

“Go home, get some sleep and don’t murder anyone.” Satou suddenly called her back to the moment, and she realised that she was back outside, the late afternoon sun barely cutting through the low clouds. She heard the door close behind her but it took a moment to realise that she was alone. The walk back home she didn’t remember, but she did remember seeing the familiar stairs to her apartment, the eye slits of a hunter nin mask and the familiar darkness of her apartment, the perpetually messy sofa and meow of her cat as it appeared from nowhere and wound around her legs. The arresting normalcy had finally burst the dam as she heaved a great gasping breath of the catharsis that would not be denied an outlet.

 

… 

 

Etsuko sighed a breath of relief as she finally got back to the apartment she shared with Suzu, they’d both felt safer in living together since they’d awoken (though Suzuru would sooner die than admit it). As she reached the upper walkway of her apartment block, she saw that their porch light was off, as was the kitchen light and she reached for her key. She pulled her bag a little higher on her shoulder and unlocked the door, only to find it already open,

“Suzu?” She called out, flicking on the light and closing the door behind her, only to find her friend lying face down in the middle of the hallway, awkwardly splayed over the step, with Spring Onion sat on her back, screaming at Etsuko to feed him. “Oh my god, get off her, Tamanegi!” She gently shoved the grouchy white cat aside and pulled Suzuru onto her back, checking her pulse, 

“W-huh? Etsuko? What’s going on?”

“You need to tell me! I just found you lying here on the floor! Are you okay? What happened? What time did you get home?”

“Uh… I guess I must have just fallen asleep…” Suzuru shakily got to her feet, helped up by Etsuko, who eyed her usually messy long plaited hair, her head was covered in escaped wisps and the tie at the back of her head had slipped.

“Who falls asleep in the entryway?  _On a high step?_  Did something happen today?”

“Uh, just… really stressful…”

“Meowww-woooow!”

“Suzuru, I’ve seen you look less frazzled on the worst day of your life! And we’ve known each other for far too long for you to bullshit me. Go and get a shower and a change of clothes—”

“MEOOoooOOOW!” 

“In a minute, Spring Onion! —I’ll feed the cat and make dinner, then you’re going to tell me about it, okay?” Etsuko tried to keep a serious face, but her lips betrayed her and creeped into a smile. Which was partly the reason why she’d named the cat as such: as soon as she’d laid eyes on the tiny, grubby creature hiding under their window sill, she knew it would be very, very annoying but it wasn’t easy to stay angry at a dark tipped, white ball of fluff with such a stupid name.

“Yeah,” Suzuru couldn’t help but smile ether, looking down at the bright green eyed cat, glaring at them, “Okay.” She wandered away, after slowly slipping off her shoes and trudged into their small apartment; Etsuko took the catch she’d caught several hours earlier and cut the heads and tails off two, she boned and scaled them as best she could and mashed the remains. One half she put in a bowl and set it on the floor for Onion (nearly losing a hand in the process) and covered the second half and returned it to the fridge for Onion’s breakfast tomorrow. She then turned to the bodies of the fish and prepared them; she washed the rice and set it to cook whilst she gathered what other miscellaneous, flavourful ingredients she could find. 

She was already halfway through her beer (Suzuru had often accused her of being a pathological hoarder, but those complaints always seemed to be forgotten whenever Etsuko revealed another secret stash of beer she had hidden) by the time Suzuru eventually appeared from her room. She fetched a beer from the fridge and handed it to her, “Dinner will be ready in about ten.”

“Thanks.” Suzuru took a swig and sat down on their raggedy sofa,

“So? Today?”

“They tested us… at the academy,”

“Holy shit, what happened?”

“They split us in half, some blindfolded and told the other half to take us down only with chakra.”

“W-what?” Etsuko hadn’t expected that, “Are you hurt?”

“No, I wasn’t, I don’t know how but I managed to avoid being hit, I think it was on a timer and I just managed to avoid but… I was so…  _scared_.” Suzuru spat the word, as if ashamed it had ever graced her lips, 

“Suzu, it’s okay, who would react well to being suddenly blindfolded and told to survive? You were just a normal civilian up to a few weeks ago… it’s typical of the mind-games that Kiri has always followed, they were trying to shake you up, trying to get you on your back foot but you’ve had no training to deal with that, you shouldn’t be ashamed that you didn’t pass it with flying colours. Though… if you managed not get hit, then it sounds like you might have passed?”

“I didn’t.” The words were out of Suzu’s mouth so fast she barely let Etsuko finish her sentence, but they were flat, a statement of unwelcome truth rather than some unfounded fear.

“You stopped someone from taking you down under orders to do so, of course you passed!” Etsuko had meant it to be something reassuring, but she could clearly see the lines deepening on her friend’s face, “Are you worried they’re going to force you to become a shinobi?” Suzu had always loathed the shinobi, for what they represented and what they’d taken from her, but you couldn’t get her to admit it. But Suzu didn’t give the expected, relieved reply and Etsuko didn’t miss the tiny noise she made first, 

“N—yes… yes!” It was a poor cover, but Etsuko knew better than to push,

“Don’t worry, let’s eat, it should be ready by now.” Etsuko rose to her feet and returned to the kitchen; it was clear something more was going on and Suzu was not very good at hiding her feelings. Still, the worst thing Etsuko could do now would be to push her friend too far and make her feel that she had to keep everything unto herself; Suzu would be more forthcoming once she’d had a little longer to digest the day… and maybe a few more beers, too.

 

* * *

 

“Hey,” Ino greeted as casually as she could, chewing on her last mouthful of rice, she really could  _not_ wait until the food supply chains were back up and running; she’d never been a fan of traditional breakfast and sorely missed her preferred option of toast. Hinata closed the door behind her and slipped off her sandals,

“Oh, hi, I thought you’d be out?”

“Nah, Lee had to take another class last minute, because of lessons the Iron civilians have been running, so we’re not meeting for another half an hour.”

“Oh, right… what are you doing with Lee?” There was touch of hesitancy in Hinata’s voice, as if certain she’d been told and was embarrassed that she’d forgotten,

“Oh did I forget to tell you? We’re going to build some access ramps to some of Gai’s favourite meditation spots, so that he can enjoy them again. He’s having a hard time at the moment, too.”

“That’s really nice.” 

“You can come and help us if you want, if you feel up to it, I mean. It’s a nice day and a bit of exercise might do you good?” Ino rose her eyebrows in encouragement,

“I’m not very good at building things.”

“Neither are Lee and I, between the three of us the most we’ve built are tents, but I think three pairs of hands are better than two!”  _Because my head is worse than mush!_  Hinata thought darkly,  _No! Stop it! Shizune-sampai said not to acknowledge dark thoughts!_

“Um, okay, yeah.”

“Great!”

 

“O-oh, Hinata-san is here to help too? That’s great!” Lee offered an enthusiastic thumbs up when he finally dropped to the ground in front of them, “I’m sorry I’m late, one of my student’s needed extra help.”

“It’s okay, it gave Hinata and I a chance to get everything ready… any ideas on the best place to start?” Ino said as the three gathered around the wide set of seven steps which led up to one of Gai’s favourite awnings — and where his team had first met their jounin sensei all those years ago.

“Um, I suppose we should build a frame, but… how exactly we’re supposed to attach it to the stone…” Lee trailed off, not even knowing enough to even know what was a stupid suggestion. “Do you think we should try and find someone who’s got some experience at this?”

“Given that there are about two ramps in Konoha total, I’d say there  _aren’t_  any people skilled.” Ino deadpanned, 

“Excuse me, I don’t mean to eavesdrop but I couldn't help but overhear, are you in need of some construction advice?” A voice behind them drew their attention, “I am Mokokori Tsunoko, I came from the Land of Iron with Mifune-sama.”

“Oh! Tsunoko-san!” Lee bowed low, followed slightly less enthusiastically by Hinata and Ino, “It is a pleasure to meet you. And yes, we do require some help if you would be willing to provide any.”

Tsunoko smiled broadly, the wrinkles deepening in his friendly face, “Certainly, that is the reason why I have travelled to Konohagakure, I am considered quite skilled when it comes to construction using chakra.”

“Chakra?” Ino questioned, “Is that possible?”

“Oh yes, and its very convenient, might I add. Are you three ninja?”

“Hai.”

“Then I suppose it would interest you to learn just how many jutsus there are that have no direct combat relation.” Tsunoko chuckled as the three in front of him all displayed very different expressions of the same ernest curiosity, “What are you trying to build?”

“We’re hoping to install some access ramps to allow our friend, who is in a wheelchair, to visit his favourite places.” Lee explained,

“Ah, a very kind gesture,” Tsunoko walked over to the staircase and dropped his small pack to the side and pulled a tangle from his pocket and began to smooth it out, “Construction, whether it is done manually or with the aid of chakra is all about one thing at its heart: angles.” It turned out he was holding a tape measure, “This will be your best friend when you are trying to make something for practical purposes, but don’t feel that you can’t experiment either!”

 

Tsunoko’s hands flickered through the handseals and the three nin watched in amazement as the stairs themselves seemed to shift and elongate at the bottom, losing their defining edges and soothing out ever more until all that was left of the four foot width of stairs was a gentle slope. “I’ve been doing this so long I can calculate the right slope angle just by looking, but you will, unfortunately have to do a lot of calculations to make sure you get it right. The more you manipulate something with chakra, the more you weaken its structural integrity and it will, eventually collapse.”

“How so?” Ino asked, her eyes still glued to their ready-made ramp, as if it were merely a mirage and was waiting to snap back into its original form at a moment’s notice, 

“The infusion of chakra into a material that you wish to manipulate, is not unlike filling a balloon with water, at first it makes the balloon more easy to manipulate, but if you continue to fill it, it will eventually break. The effectiveness of the jutsu depends on your ability to inject just enough chakra that you can manipulate the material, but not so much that you damage it in the process.”

“That… sounds very complicated…”

“I will teach you the proper ways, although you are right there is some level of complexity, but once you know how it will seem easy.” Tsunoko smiled, though it seemed to the three that he hadn’t stopped smiling since he approached them, “If you have some time now, I can take you through some of the theoretical aspects which you can apply for your attempt on the next ramp.”

“Do you… um, need to spatially recompose the chakra to be used on different materials?” Hinata asked, 

Tsunoko raised an eyebrow, “Now there’s a question I’m not asked very often, no, this jutsu doesn’t work in quite the same way as combat jutsu, the idea isn’t that you need to  _recompose_  the chakra differently, it’s just that you need to correct the  _density_  of the chakra. Each material has a different density which you must be able to calculate and compensate for depending on what you wish that material to do.”

“So the better you match your chakra to the density, the more malleable it becomes.” Hinata finished,

“Very good! That’s exactly what I was getting at, the better you understand the thing it is you’re working with, the more you can ask of it. Observe.” Tsunoko again formed hand seals, steadied his stance and from the untouched portion of the stone steps grew a magnificent sculpture of a leaping tiger, rich with details. It’s stone fur sleek but clumped as though the beast had leapt from a great body of water.

“Whoa!” 

“S-sugoi!” 

“…” Hinata could hardly believe her eyes as she saw how the stone had been stretched to a hair’s width for the whiskers and stranded just so that she felt as if she could see the tiger’s wet fur shifting with the momentum. 

“I live in the mountains and have spent a life shifting rock and stone, so it is a material I know very well, I could hardly produce such results with cloth or metal… you’ll have to speak to Heitobana-san for that.”

“But there are so many different types of rock, how do you know what one you’re dealing with? What if it had a vein of mineral in?” Hinata asked at once, her fascination at the new knowledge overriding, for the first time in months, the weight of the troubles on her shoulders. Tsunoko smiled a rich, warm smile, 

“To have a student as curious as she is astute is a blessing, I will be honoured to teach you everything that I can, but… perhaps we can retire to somewhere more comfortable? I am an old man, after all and having already taught one class before I bumped into you here, I am quite tired.”

“O-oh, of course, there’s a tea shop around the corner, it only sells one type of tea, though.”

“That will be just fine.”

 

* * *

 

Tsunade finally took herself home, her small, sparely furnished apartment hadn’t changed in all the years she been in Konoha; it had, briefly been wonderfully decorated into the image of a well loved home. Though that had only been in her dreams. Between the preparations for defeating Otsutsuki and managing the rebuilding of Konoha and an angry, chakra-power civilian population, she hadn’t the time to contemplate the cold apartment she’d returned to. But with Mifune and his friends helping to cool tensions and the repairs all but complete, Tsunade had ample time to look around her barely-there domicile. 

Having spent decades flitting from hotel to inn to make-shift camp with Shizune whilst she tried to drink and gamble away her memories, there had never been any purpose to sentimental nick-knacks and, by that time, she long lost her love of them anyway. And after she’d accepted the job as Godaime Hokage, it had taken a few months to truly settle into the idea that she was going to stay in Konoha for good… and that it might now be appropriate to actually turn her living space into a reflection of herself.

One of the precious few artefacts she did have was a photograph of Dan, his expression one of complete ease as wisps of his long hair caught in some unseen breeze and his typical smile settled firmly on his face. His dream of being Hokage turned to ash decades prior, but the dream looked as fresh and hopeful as his face. He wanted to change Konoha, to end the bitter cycle of violence and loss and bitterness, to stop the view that shinobi existed to be carelessly thrown away in the name of The Village and The Greater Good. The idea that anything which benefited Konoha and secured its military integrity was automatically Good. Dan had convinced Tsunade of this enlightened thinking quickly and she herself had even pushed for better trained medics… but somewhere along the way, she’d forgotten the rest of what Dan had stood for. 

It would be almost impossible to maintain the shinobi system, they way it was now, at least. Even the very idea of shinobi now had the ability to create a caste system: either elevating the serving ninja to the best among them or see their identities withered to little more than hired murderers. Neither was a good option. Dan’s view to change had been very ninja orientated, as was the primary purview of the Hokage: they were a shinobi first. 

And so the Hokage protected the ninja first; indeed, the founding of Konoha had been with the idea in mind that the civilian population would always be the minority. Tsunade had to snort at the irony that in some ways they’d been exactly right. Even so the system wouldn’t work, even if a war was on the horizon; there would undoubtedly be another, someday, humans were aggressive and stupid that way, but Tsunade hoped that it would be a good few years before tensions began to rise again. And that had to begin with the foundation she laid in Konoha for these early days.

Mifune had helped to alleviate some of the tensions by teaching people to see that combat was not the only use for chakra — something all of the great nations had forgotten — but there needed to be a better infrastructure. Better career pathways and better… better… something, everything, anything. Dan would probably have an idea of how to refresh the system but and keep it functional whilst allowing it to take a backseat as the primary drive of the village and the village had always had blinkers on when it came to civilians. It had only been a few days since Tsunade even noticed that there weren’t any access ramps in Konoha… at least, none in any of the public places. 

The hospital, without any shinobi medics on duty was a shameful excuse for a hospital, it was a clinic at best despite Tsunade’s efforts to encourage their training, preference had always gone to the shinobi. Yet again. It was the bias that needed change, the view that training shinobi came before the welfare of civilians was a slow insidious infection and now had come the time that the organism that was Konoha had begun to adapt. It was time to tackle the changes head on, come what may. It was that or admit defeat and watch Konoha be destroyed and it would be very unbecoming of the Hokage to allow the latter to come to fruition.

 

* * *

 

“How cool was that old guy?” Ino exclaimed as she flung herself down on the sofa, “He knew everything about chakra control!”

“I know! If was if the stone was alive and moving of its own volition! I’ve never seen even a jounin earth affinity be able to move the ground with such smoothness!” Hinata slipped off her sandals and washed her hands in the sink before joining Ino on the sofa,

“Will you take him up on those lessons?” She asked,

“Yes! I can’t believe he said he was prepared to teach me! I really thought they were open only to the civilians!” Hinata replied, unable to keep the grin off her face, “Could imagine just being able to  _build_  something? A sculpture, a staircase, a  _house_ , just like that? Incredible!” Hinata gesticulated as she spoke, more animated than she’d been in weeks, “Just thinking about the possibilities of what chakra can do, that we never had an inkling of! Everywhere we looked it was all ‘combat’ this and ‘offensive’ that, it’s like the village never even  _considered_  the possibility that chakra could be used for infrastructure rather than fighting! I mean, I guess I did to some degree, there’s medical ninjutsu and clan techniques like your’s, but, but I never considered that chakra could be used to manipulate physical objects!” Hinata trailed off, aware that Ino was watching her with a small smile on her face, apparently happy listening to Hinata’s rambling, “I… aren’t you fascinated by this?”

“Yeah, of course I am, but I don’t think I really have the aptitude, you clearly do, though.”

“Ah, well, so Tsunoko-sama says, but I guess it remains to be seen if I really can do it.”

“Of course you can, you have the desire to learn and someone who really wants to teach you! You’re going to do great.” Ino smiled encouragingly as Hinata merely stared at her for a few moments, her unfettered but gentle support keenly felt; it had been a long time since Hinata had felt such genuine, non-pressuring desire from someone else to see her move forward with her a life in a way that was  _her’s._

 

..

 

.

 

_ A/n - Hahaha Ashima's a woman long passed the 'bullshit' stages of her life!  _


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in this chapter! Christmas and New Year were... shall we say, stressful! But I hope you all had happy holidays (if you celebrate such things! If you don't then I hope you have had, at least, a good few weeks ^_ ^) and I wish you all a Happy New Year! (I, for one, was happy to see the back of 2018!)

 

 

Step followed step in increasing succession as Kakashi quickened his pace, feeling his feet pound through the leaf litter, his legs ached with the familiar strain of exercise; his breath heaved and he felt the burn of cold winter air in his lungs. As tired as he felt, his mood had been lifted a long time ago just with the movement of his body; he’d always liked to run, he’d always felt his mood pick up at the exertion and after his prolonged state of inactivity at his coma, he had a lot of running to make up for. He’d been rather shocked to wake up and realise the changes that Konoha had undergone and it had taken him several days to consider all of the different ways that it would impact the world. Unfortunately, it seemed far too likely that it would be for the worse. Kakashi had, in the spare couple of hours he got to himself during the day whilst Sakura was busy at the hospital, dedicated himself to recall everything that he was able about the initial conflict with Otsutsuki and two major things occurred to him. 

First: seven of the nine bijuu were without their jinchuuriki, potentially freely roaming the countryside once again, and thus uncontrolled by a nation or village. 

Second: the civilian populations had been isolated in their villages for the entirety of the war. Although they had undoubtedly heard that all of the nations were uniting together during the war, they did not have the benefit of _seeing_ the unity and closeness of the forces on the battlefield, which means that the old suspicions of other villages, ingrained by several wars and generations of fighting, would not be so easily forgotten. Which makes the threat of further conflict in the unstable times they all faced just a little bit more distinct. 

Tsunade had called him for a meeting once he was back on his feet and had eaten a few good meals and he’d relayed these thoughts to her. She had agreed that both of his conclusions were accurate and carried with them the innate threat of violence. But, as Tsunade was quick to point out that both of the points were largely out of Konoha’s hands: the attitudes held by the wider populations towards he other nations were their respective internal affairs and any interference on Konoha’s part would likely only incite further resentment — at best. 

The same applied to the bijuu, even if they were no longer contained within a shinobi, the nations’ claims to what had once been their jinchuuriki still stood. And there their conversation had ended with Tsunade receiving a call from the daimyo, so Kakashi had decided to take himself training, carefully skirting around the various lessons being conducted (and various other shinobi trying not to look too interested even as they were getting entirely distracted from their own training regimes). For all intents and purposes, Konoha _seemed_ largely the same — people milling here and there, diligent in what they were doing and shinobi training; the only real difference is that the civilians were now training their own chakra too. Sakura would no doubt be a lot busier in the coming weeks with chakra related injuries.

“Kakashi!” The excited voice of Naruto drew his attention as he matched Kakashi’s pace at his side, “I heard you’d woken up but guess I missed you at the hospital, how are you?”

“Not bad, Naruto, just trying to get myself back in shape.”

“Hai, hai.” Naruto grinned excitedly, “You and Sakura are good now, right?”

“Ah, yeah, we are I guess.”

“Good, good, I was sad to see you at odds with each other, you seemed like a match.”

“Eh?” It hadn’t really occurred to Kakashi before, but Naruto’s approval felt distinctly encouraging; he might not have been particularly worried about the boy’s opinions, but Sakura likely would be; they were close friends after all. “Thanks. How are things with you and Hinata?”

“Ah,” The smile evaporated from Naruto’s face, “We’re um, I’m giving Hinata a bit of space. I don’t think she wants to try again and she’s been having a hard time recently.”

“Oh?”

“She got kicked out of the clan.”

“Eh?” That was news to Kakashi,

“Yeah, she’s been really upset, I think she wanted to take over as head of the clan.” Naruto explained and Kakashi found his interest truly piqued, Hinata ascending as clan leader? That certainly sounded like quite an about-turn for the chronically shy Hyuuga.

 

…

 

“So?” The daimyo demanded, “What are your recommendations? I cannot wait any longer, Tsunade.”

“My recommendations, daimyo-sama, are that we entirely reform the academy, tuning it into a general school which will teach chakra control, basic jutsu and self-defence up to Genin level, along with the basic maths, language, science and a handful of other subjects. The academy will be non-diversified and teach all children the same skills, up to the age of fifteen where they can then choose which path they wish to follow. Separate apprenticeships will be set up to allow them to follow which career path they choose: being a shinobi, non-combat related chakra user or other non-chakra related jobs.”

“That sounds ambitious.” Tsunade wasn’t sure if the daimyo was being cagey because he didn’t like it or because he couldn’t see through the difficulties. 

“We have to be ambitious, daimyo-sama if we wish to see the village of Konohagakure survive; for too long already, the village had been far too bias towards shinobi and we have left the civilian population neglected. We’ve needed reform for a long time and now is the perfect opportunity to implement these changes and make Konoha a better village for _everyone._ ”

“Hmm,” The daimyo steepled his fingers as he thought, “How much will this cost?”

“Not significant up front, give the current children we have in Konoha, time and experience will be our bigger problems, especially for the non-combat chakra related careers whilst they are still being created. We will also have to account for future children born without chakra, the civilians now have chakra but we cannot say for certain that their progeny will. Not all children born to shinobi necessarily have an aptitude for chakra, even now. I have sent my costing projections to you with Momoka.”

“Agreed. I foresee this becoming a problem further down the line — what if supply exceeds demand?”

“That’s why I suggest the apprenticeships, they will far more adaptable to changes in supply and demand than a standard school framework.”

“And will the people running the apprenticeships be solely teaching?”

“No, they will have normal job to fulfil the demands of the village but take on an apprentice or two simultaneously.”

“Number projections?”

“As of yet I cannot say, but I will be able to make a prediction one the classes Mifune-sama and his colleagues are running have concluded.”

The daimyo nodded, “When will I have the reports you sent?” Tsunade resisted the urge to roll her eyes, it was starting to sound like he was looking for reasons too find fault.

“I sent them out with Momoka first thing this morning, so they should be with you within the hour.”

“Fine. I suppose there aren’t many other options to choose from, so make your academy reforms and keep me updated. I have also received word that the costal towns and supply chains are largely back up and running, you should have your normal shipments back before the end of the week. Though there has been a lot of movement to and fro and a lot of people are intending to travel to Konoha. I have authorised their movements and their eligibility to stay in Konoha.”

“H-Hai, daimyo-sama, thank you.” The screen died before she’d finished her sentence. _NOW he tells me about these changes?! …The point is I have permission, the daimyo wouldn’t be happy with anything that took longer than a finger snap anyway!_

The last thing was to bring some cohesion to the village and Shizune’s idea of an Obon festival sounded like a great idea.

 

* * *

Suzuru’s week had been one of intense paranoia; although she hadn’t left the apartment once, she’d felt eyes on her all week and she knew it wasn’t entirely a figment of her imagination. But why they had left her alone was beyond her. The first day she’d awoken late and hungover, paralysed by the gripping fear that a Hunter Nin was about to burst through the window and thrust a kunai through her chest where she lay. The paralysing fear lasted for two days (and Tamanegi had pulled double shifts sleeping on her chest or by her feet or on her face in his own primitive attempt at comfort) until Etsuko left a book out — about the history of Kirigakure and the ideals that it had been founded upon; those same ideals that had stirred fears of kekkei genkai and clan dominance over Mist.Suzuru had spent most of the night thinking about what she’d read rather than sleeping and trying to figure out just how she might best make use of the information.

She felt her chakra surge and gather behind her eyes and she saw everything: she found that she could see through the walls to her room, she could see the lines running electricity through them, she could see the energy being generated by the birds, snails, bugs and worms outside of their apartment, she could see the bright coursing chakra of the people in the next apartments over and in the street. She could see everything for perhaps fifty meters or more, though it was such an intense volume of information, she didn’t feel as overwhelmed as she’d anticipated… more like she had just opened her eyes for the first time. 

She turned her eyes back to the chakra source of whoever it was living next door, (their last known neighbours had moved out just before the fourth war had broken out and in the confusion, they hadn’t formerly met the young man who’d moved in); his chakra glowed brightly and flowed chaotically, twisting this way and that even though she could see that he was sat still in his living room. She watched him for a good long while as she shifted and shuffled, as he got up to get himself something to eat and drink and how, over the next hour, his chakra grew a little brighter. Though it continued to swirl chaotically. Ensei, as she’d learned what she could about chakra and had told Suzuru in hurried whispers, that untrained chakra was chaotic and the better trained — the more skilled — a shinobi was, the more smoothly their chakra flowed.

 

She looked down at her hands and body, she could see her own chakra ebbing and whirling as if she were some wild-eyed bratty child of a gifted clan. And given her current predicament, that’s exactly what she was. Helpless, trapped and the container of some feared power. What was so special about her power? What could she do but _spy_ on people? What help was that? _What had that document said? That she was capable of creating forcefields as well?_ Suzuru had her Subete MIru activated, but she didn’t see anything else; she climbed off her bed, staggering as her numb legs suddenly adjusted to being asked to bare weight again. 

She reached out toward her wall, which should be just out of reach from where she stood, but she felt no impact upon the wood panel, ever closer she inched until her fingertips touched it. She sighed disappointed but unsure what she had been expected, she pressed her hand flat to the wall and leaning her weight onto it, as if to test she really was touching it. She slid her hand down the wall and turned her back to it, slapping her hands onto it, her mind listless and befuddled over what it was that she was supposed to be doing with herself or how, now that the paralysing fear had abated. 

She breathed deeply and relaxed her chakra, switching off her Subete Miru; no one had come to see her in two days, not Shin, not Satou and no Hunter Nins, what was the game being played here? To let her think she was off the hook? But what purpose did it serve? If they wanted her to become ninja why the wait? If they were going to kill her, why wait? Etsuko had clearly been worried about her, but she hadn’t pushed her on details and she did not want her friend to get dragged into whatever mess was waiting for Suzuru when Kiri decided what to do with her. Etsuko had said that she’d been tested, in a different way to Suzuru and had been decided that she was little threat and little use. If only it could have been that easy for her.Some part urged her to run away but to where she had no idea or that she’d get no more than ten steps before being caught and killed… was it better to be killed lazy and ignorant at home or lost and cold on the run?

 

Suzuru needed a plan; she had no idea what the likelihood was that they’d kill her or force her to work as a shinobi but there was no way she’d let them do to her what they’d done to Ensei. She had to move first, get away, get a head start… she grabbed her pack and started to shove clothes into it, she hurried to the kitchen to grab a few knives from the drawer, but she hesitated at the fridge, could she take food from Etsuko? Leave her and Onion with nothing? It was Etsuko who did most of the shopping and catching—

“Hey Suzu—oh you’re up!” Etsuko appeared through the door in the same instant, “What are you doing?” Her eyes took the scene in quickly but thoroughly, “Are you running away?”

“Uh, Etsuko, I…”

“It won’t work if you just grab some random things and run out, especially not in the middle of the day… are you ever going to tell me what this is all about? Clearly the jounins found something out about you that they didn’t like.”

“E-Etsuko?” She never spoke like this, “What?”

“If you want to survive, you need to plan properly… I know you’ve always had designs of leaving, leaving something, leaving this village, this the system. Suzu, if you want to go, you can but you’ve gotta get your head together first.”

“I… I know, but—”

“Giving in to your worries won’t help anything, the important thing is that you plan, you have something to fall back on when things go wrong. You’ve always been a planner, it one of the things you’re best at: playing a long game.”

“I know.” She was beginning to feel frustrated, only able to parrot back the same words. 

Etsuko looked at her for a long moment, until finally she whispered it. “You have a kekkei genkai, don’t you?” Suzuru was sure the look on her face said everything, “It’s the only thing that could shake you up so badly, you knew everyone had chakra and even if you’d had an exceptional level, I think you would have been able to take that in your stride, but a blood-line limit? Something so hated and feared in Kiri, that might do it. I bumped into Yuyouu the other day, he said that you were taken away at the end of the test and he hadn’t seen you since… I’ll bet the shinobi are still trying to figure out what to do with you, it would be short sighted to kill you straight off but they’re probably also scared of employing you.”

“Why—how?”

“I’m not stupid, I know what’s what and that’s the only thing that fits; you’ve barely moved or spoken in days. I’m not bothered by it, I’m not scared of you, you have an amazing gift but I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.” Etsuko’s voice was genuine, her expression gentle, “Talk to me Suzu, I’ll help you through this… you’re still my friend, Suzu, let me help you.”

“I… thought they were gonna kill me, they took me into Intel, to an interrogation cell and started talking about a clan… the, uh… Futusatome clan, they think my mother is _missing,_ presumed dead, and then they just let me go home and told me to get some rest, and the haven’t come back.” Suzuru said all at one, the words had been waiting for the opportunity and now would not stop, “And I don’t know why or what the fuck they want—”

“Hold on, the Futusatome clan? The doujutsu users? The demon-eyed clan? Holy fuck… I though your parents were just civilians?” Etsuko replied, but Suzuru could only offer an over-exaggerated shrug, “Shit the bed… they were one of the most powerful clans in Mist, I remember reading about them years ago, I was fascinated by them, it was said they were on a par with the Uchiha, almost. The Sandaime was so scared of them overthrowing him, he began sowing the seeds of distrust until eventually the village turned against them and did his dirty work for him… it’s… it’s amazing that the bloodline exists still… did Ensei have them, the eyes?” 

“I don’t know, maybe… but I get why she wouldn’t have told me.” Suzuru breathed, her nerves slowly shattering,

“Suzu, I really mean it when I say I’m on your side, you like my family… this isn’t going to scare me off, okay?”

“Y-yeah…”

“I mean it, Suzu. But we have got start making some plans… I’ve got several stashes, enough we could probably leave right now, but we should time it right; the village hasn’t been too noisy recently and we’ve got to stay hidden. Give me a day, Suzu, we’ll leave tomorrow night, late, I can get some prep done tomorrow. Tsuko won’t care if I want a few days off and the shop has been slow over the past week.” Etsuko said, rolling her eyes at the boring day-job minding a small store.

“Yeah, okay.” Suzuru haltingly agreed, 

“Don’t worry Suzu, we’ll get through this.”

 

…

 

A sharp rap on the door shocked her out of her thoughts, she crouched down on instinct, though what good it was supposed to do she had no idea; they rapped again, almost knocking down the door with their intensity.

“Open up, Suzuru! It’s time.” It was Satou’s voice, _Fuck! Now? Where the hell is Etsuko?_ She glanced at the window, finding that same haunting mask she’d been seeing echoes of all week staring back at her; she rose to her feet with as much dignity as she could muster and walked out of her room and towards her front door. She wallowed in her thoughts and pity and mindlessly awaited her fate, too cowardly to do anything else about it. It was only a shame Spring Onion had demanded to be let out earlier in the morning and hadn’t returned, as grouchy as he could be, he was still a sweet cat and she was sorry not to have the opportunity to say a goodbye that would fall on deaf ears.

She opened the door to find Satou stood with another jounin at his side, “Mizukage wants to speak with you, let’s move.” His voice was even but his face told clearly of the derision he felt, she slipped her shoes on and was grateful, at least, that she’d gotten dressed today. She pulled the door closed behind her and allowed Satou to lead her down into the street; it was just about dusk and things were quiet. “If you try anything, the Hunter Nin had plenty of senbon.” 

She didn’t answer him and focused on keeping herself calm; the Mizukage had made a lot of changes to Mist and was respected for being even tempered and fair but old biases were not easy to let go of. Just as Suzuru was weighing the options between running and staying several things happened simultaneously; the jounin escort gurgled and crumpled into a heap on the floor with several needles sticking out of his neck and a white, hissing ball flew out of nowhere and latched itself onto Satou’s face, spiting and biting and scratching him and then Suzu felt the stomach lurching panic of sudden movement and found self in a dark alley face to face with the pale mask of a Hunter Nin.

“Stay calm and don’t struggle.” They said before she was scooped over the nin’s shoulder,

“But—no—”

“C’mon Suzu, we’ve got to move fast.”

“Etsuko?”

“Yup! Now stick close.” She answered and hurried away, keeping one arm clamped over Suzuru’s legs as she dashed away beyond the last houses and out of Kirigakure.

 

* * *

 

The days had turned slowly into weeks and quickly into months, and it had surprised Hinata when she suddenly realised that it had been almost three months since she’d been thrown out by her father and lost her confidence all over again. But things were slowly improving, her biweekly sessions with Shizune were helping to clear her head as well as the chakra doses to help re-stabilise her brain chemistry had certainly helped. 

But it had been impromptu visits from Ryutsa that reminded her of her purpose and that she was being counted on to try again; she still had her doubts and the nagging voice of self-derision who’d been her constant companion through her childhood and teens sounded just as loud now. Though thankfully for Hinata, her lessons with Tsunoko and his gentle, patient manner gave her a clarity of thought she’d been sorely missing. Even on her bad days, Tsunoko seemed to have more compassion for her mood swings and low energy than she been expecting. Even without her explaining to him the minutiae of what had been bothering her, his instincts told him when to give her a break and share some kind words and when not to let her depression rule her and pushed her to work beyond her immediate desire to give up.

There were days when Hinata hated him for this, it felt like he was just another embodiment of the dark, foul voice that judged every decision and action; he seemed to know this too and as soon as she’d at least made an attempt to do as he’d asked, he’d let her rest. He had been doing her a favour — as long as it had taken her to realise — and it had kicked her out of her quickly acquired instinct to give up at the first hurdle. And finally, after a shamefully long time, she had the desire to start training again; it had taken her by surprise to find that she hadn’t completely lost her fitness and by the time she’d finished with her run she felt her spirits rise. And those spirits had carried her through the practice of her katas and to wield her chakra until she was exhausted. The good kind of exhausted that came from productive hard work. Just as she flopped into a seat in the shade of a large camphor tree and let out a long slow breath, a figure called to her from the treeline,

“N-Natsuki-san?”

“Hinata-sama! I am so pleased to see you training again!” She could hear the smile in Natsuki’s voice easily,

“H-hai…”

“You’re going to try again, aren’t you?”

“Hai, Natsuki-san, I will. But I don’t know when yet, I need much more preparation.”

“Well, I have heard that Hanabi-sama might be getting sent on a mission to Suna soon, but Hiashi-sama’s trying to fight it.” Natsuki whispered, “I think he’s worried you will try again and win if Hanabi isn’t there to help… this mission is still a little way off.” She dipped her head in a long bow of genuine respect before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Through before Hinata had time to truly digest the information, she was besieged again by another someone keen to talk to her.

 

“Heeeeeyyyyyyy!! Hinata!” The boorish voice of Naruto scared a few birds from the not-so-nearby trees as he ran towards her across the open training ground, “You’re outside! And training! How are you? I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve been over to visit but… I thought… maybe you needed some time.”

“It’s okay, Naruto.” Hinata rose to her feet, feeling her clothes pull at the sweat sticking them to her skin,

“How, um, have you been? Are things… okay?”

“Yes, I think I’ve been feeling a bit better, enough to try some training at least, it was about time that I got back into it.”

“Yeah that’s really great! We can train together if you want? I still can’t get Sakura or Kakashi to train with me.” He sighed, “But I guess they’re busy… um, I’ve seen you with that old guy, from Iron Country, um… ah….”

“Tsunoko-sama? Yes, he’s an excellent teacher, very patient.”

“Nothing like your dad then, huh?” He snickered before catching himself, “oh, um…”

“Its fine, really, and you’re right… the things the fates hand us, huh?”

“…Yeah.” He agreed and they began walking back towards the village, “So have you heard about the festival? Tsunade-baa-chan said she wants us all to have an Oban festival, even though it’s the wrong time of year, for us all to say goodbye to people we lost in the war and… in the dream.”

“Yes, I heard.”

“A-are you going?”

“I suppose so, I don't think Ino will let me stay in, to be honest.”

“Um, do you… want to go with me?”

“I’m sure I’ll see you there, Naruto, but—”

“I know, I know, sorry.”

 

They lapsed into silence as they walked, “Ah, Hinata-san, I’d been hoping to catch you.” Tsunoko hobbled over to them, 

“Tsunoko-sama? Can I help you?”

“No, no I just wanted to chat.”

“I’ll, um, see you later, Hinata.” Naruto took his cue to leave, offering a sombre smile and a small wave,

“Bye, Naruto.” 

“Who was he?” Tsuno,ko asked

“Uzumaki Naruto, we were, ah, married under the Tsukikomi.”

“Ahh.” Tsunoko sighed knowingly, “And I assume that you will not be resuming your relationship?” 

“No. After I had been awoken, I had some time to think about myself and my dream-life and I decided that I didn’t want to follow down the same path.”

“Weren’t you happy?”

“Yes, it seemed that I had achieved the sense of confidence I’d been searching for my entire life but I realised that… the confidence hadn’t been genuine, I hadn’t earned it for myself, but rather took what confidence Naruto had given me. I wanted the chance to live for myself.” She wasn’t sure why she was telling all of this to him, but something about Tsunoko seemed to effortlessly elicit the truth. 

“That sounds like a very wise decision to me.” He answered gently, “And that is a realisation that many never achieve, to live for yourself, truly yourself — not to say selfishly or without regard for others — but putting the work in to living the truest version of yourself is a vital component of happiness. When you understand yourself and your motivations and you’ve proven to yourself that you are not afraid to pick yourself up and put in hard work where its needed, only then can you truly share happiness with others and love others for _who they are_ and not _what they give you_. It is a hard lesson and the climb to achieving confidence in oneself is an unrelenting, unforgiving slog but it is more worth it than almost anything else in life.” Tsunoko spoke carefully, his words clearly tempered by experience and Hinata allowed the silence to hang whilst she thought about them, until at last she responded,

“You’re right… I thought I loved Naruto, but what I loved was the confidence I thought he gave me. l thought that relationship I’d been unconsciously living up to what he thought I should be, what I _thought_ I should be… what others thought I should be. There are some days where I think would be easier to just say ‘yes’ to him… if I had’ve done maybe I wouldn’t be in this mess now.”

“There will always be messes, troubles and things which looked like insurmountable mountains but if you never push yourself through and believe that you _can_ succeed, you will learn to fall over even a small step. Even after all my years, I still come across things I think I cannot do — like when Mifune-sama asked me to come with him on this trip to the five great nations — I thought for a long while that I would say no. It must sound silly to you, but such a long journey with these old bones, I felt certain I would die long before we’d even reached the borders to the Land of Iron!” He chuckled to himself, but continued:

“But I thought back to all of the other things I have done through myself I thought impossible until I had done them… and I thought about how I wanted to teach others what I know, I wanted to see the villages rebuild themselves and those feelings seemed much more important than my assumption of discomfort. I knew it was the right thing to do and so I pushed myself to do it.” He stopped walked and spread his arms out, “And here I am! Even this old work-horse had life yet and I have seen many wonderful things and visited villages and met people I would otherwise never have been able to. Whatever mess you think you’re in Hinata-san,whatever problem that had you thinking you’re beaten, it is not so! Not as long as you have breath to draw and the desire to succeed… and, I think, the love of many friends, you will.”

“Hai, Tsunoko-sama that’s what I’d told myself too and then I had such a knock… and it seems that I’d forgotten it. For all the confidence I thought I’d earned for myself seemed to just crumble beneath me, like sodden paper.”

Tsunoko smiled kindly, “Confidence is a taciturn and cruel attribute, it’s hard to come by and oh so easy to lose, and can be paradoxically wall-flower like; when you aren’t looking for it and thinking about it, it will come to you. When you pay it least amount of attention, it will do it’s best work for you. Don’t think about how much confidence you do or do not have, you only need focus on what it is that you _want_ to do.”

“Hai, Tsunoko-sama, I think I understand.”

“If I might also say, it can help to fully put to bed old, lingering problems, to fully close the door on them lets you — and others — move on with their lives.” He said and Hinata instinctively knew just what he was talking about.

“Thank you, Tsunoko-sama, I don’t think you are aware of the many ways you’ve help me.” Hinata bowed low to him, he smiled kindly and returned one of his own.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Ino.”

“Huh?—Oh, Sakura, I didn’t even see you!” Ino had been staring blankly at the shelf in front of her for what must have been an embarrassingly long number of minutes,

“Are you okay? You look a bit lost.” Sakura asked, her eyes darting over the dried goods shelf, wondering just what it was Ino was searching for,

“Oh, just thinking about Hinata, she’s been doing better the past few weeks, I think Tsunoko-sama has really been helping her regain some confidence.”

“Good! That’s really good to hear.” Sakura smiled, 

“I haven’t seen her all that much, though, Ibiki had been keeping me quite busy and Hinata’s been out so much we’ve barely eaten one meal together this week.” Ino sighed before walking down the aisle with Sakura, her gaze casting over the produce on offer, though none of it seemed to tempt her; her basket had pitifully little rolling around inside it.

“Its good that she’s out, though, right? Better than her being stuck inside and sleeping all day.”

“Yeah it is, guess I was just hoping that when she got better, we’d have a bit ore time to talk.”

“Well, it’s not like you guys were best friends or anything,” Sakura said gently, “Maybe you’re just in that awkward part of getting to know someone better where you’re not sure how much to share with them?”

“I guess, I mean, we’ve been _living together_ for the past three months — and a couple of weeks before that — can she really see me as just some stranger?” 

  
Sakura took in the pained expression on her old friend’s face, _was Ino really upset by this?_ “I’m sure she doesn’t, Ino, she has had a really rough few months, she might just be trying really hard to pick herself up by throwing herself into these training sessions with Tsunoko-sama, I’ll bet when she feels more stable and steady you guys will talk a lot more.”

“Maybe, I guess.”

“I’m sure you’ll have some time to talk at the Obon festival, right? You could always try and talk about it with her then? Even if you just tell her that you’ll like to at least eat dinner together? I really don’t think Hinata’s doing it to hurt you or be ungrateful.”

“Nah, I don’t really think so either, but…”

“Just talk to her at the Obon festival, okay? Things will be okay, Ino.”

* * *

 

“Kota, I am certain that you're leading me on a wild goose chase!” Ashima grumbled, she’d been following the child for what felt like hours through the still crumbled and burnt quarter in Konoha. A good deal of the village had been rebuilt, but not all of it.

“No, Ashima-obaa-san, I know its around here somewhere, they just haven’t gotten around to rebuilding this part of the village yet.”

“Your parents’ home was around here?”

“Yeah,”

“They don’t want to rebuild?”

“That would be a bit difficult, given that they’re dead.” Kota replied flippantly as she kicked aside a slat of wood, 

“You lost them in the war?” Ashima’s voice was a good deal softer,

“No, during the invasion, a few months before the war.” Kota crouched down to lift the edge of a board, Ashima clapped her hands together as the long, sturdy stems of bamboo began to grow, lifting the board and scattered debris on top high and out of the way. “The basement’s down here, Ashima-obaa-san, though I can’t tell yet if it’s been caved in or not.”

“We’ll still take a look, why don’t you try growing some bamboo where abouts the basement is and use the plant heigh to tell you how much headroom there is in there. You remember how to feel the chakra through the entirety of the plant stem?” 

“Y-yeah, I think so.”

“Only grow one plant every few meters — we still need space to walk down there.” They both formed the hand seals and felt the plants sprout and grow, Kota could feel the tiny shoots grow taller and taller for what seemed like forever, “Is your shoot still growing?”

“I think so.”

“Stop adding chakra then return it to the bottom of the stem and follow it up. When the stem starts to bend, you’ve reached the ceiling.” Ashima spoke patiently as Kota closed her eyes again and tried to redirect her chakra, it took a few minutes,

“I think I feel it bending.”

“Well, it should be enough for us to squeeze through, let’s try, you can take the lead and carry this.” Ashima handed her a torch; she climbed down the awkward slope though quickly finding sure footing on the stone path, the torch light was bright and brought a welcome pool of light in the greedy darkness. “Ah, this isn’t so bad, looks like we have plenty of room… and that your growing skills still need some practice, Kota-chan!” She chuckled as she pointed between the sturdy, high fronds to Kota’s attempt: a scrawny, twisted and desperately leaning little bamboo, barely a foot high but perhaps three long. 

“Collect it from the soil, on our way out, and take it home to nurture. You still have a thing or two to learn about bamboo, as simple a plant as many might think it.” Kota nodded, taking a last glance at her “plant”, the poor thing looking so scrawny and sickly, yet had seemed so strong and fully formed in her mind’s eye. “Don’t worry, plant growing takes a very long time to get the hang of, and you’ve been doing very well so far. The key thing is remembering to have patience for yourself.” Ashima said as they continued walking, weaving between the bamboo until they came upon the door, “This is quite an extensive basement.”

“Yeah, Mum was kinda possessive about her brewing, she didn’t want anyone to find out that it was even her who made it. I didn’t even realise until you mentioned it and I started thinking back on the times I saw Dad drinking it. He always used to say to her that the beer was ‘really good’; I think I thought back then he was just trying to get her to try some. She never even let me down in through this door though she told me basics of what she was doing, guess she thought I might blab to anyone and she didn’t want to risk anyone trying to steal it from her.” Kota said, the memories flooding back in as she spoke, replaying clearly inside her head though leaving her feeling cold at the realisation how little she knew her parents and now never would.

“Smart mother.” 

 

The door opened easily (after a little chakra manipulation on the lock); it’s structural integrity had been reinforced and as such, the room had survived the fire and collapse no worse for wear. “Now this is a bootlegger’s basement if ever I saw one,” Ashima grinned, “And given how well this room has been protected and preserved I’ll bet some of those stills still work! Not that I’m in any shape to take on this kind of work. Did you parents get the chance to teach you any of this stuff?”

“No… I mean, I didn’t even really know about it but I think she thought I was too young to learn anything, anyway.” Kota’s voice held an edge, 

“Well, she might well have left you some notes to help you out… do you think you’d be interested in taking up this kind of work?”

“Hmm.” Kota made a noise, but whether it was one of disapproval or uncertainty Ashma wasn’t sure, 

“You don’t have to, there’s nothing wrong with choosing your own path no matter how different it might be from your parents’. You can honour their memories and still do as you wish with your life.”

“I know.” Kota replied shortly and Ashima dropped the subject.

“Now, surely there’s still some beer in here,” She began rooting through the cupboards, finding plenty of empty, ready labeled bottles but no beer. “Are there any hidden cupboards or stashes in here?” Ashima asked as she rummaged around, though Kota merely stood in the centre of the room, looking at the tall shoots of bamboo giving the otherwise pristine basement the look of having been lost for decades. Kota tried to imagine what her mother might have looked like, tending to the stills or bottling the home brewed beer, but she couldn’t. She’d not found anything interesting in the illicit creations of her mother’s; too young to drink and thought herself too cool to be vested in her parent’s interests, it had never occurred to her that they would be gone long before she’s be grown up. 

“Kota? Are you all right?” Ashima’s voice was gentle, though it still startled her out of her revere, 

“Huh? Oh, yeah, do you need the light?”

Ashima merely stared down at her for a few minutes, “It’s all right if you don’t want to be in here any longer.”

“No, no it’s fine.” 

 

“Where are you living now?” Ashima asked gently,

“On the other side of town, my parents had a lot of money saved and it allowed me to buy a small place since this one got destroyed.” 

“Aah, that’s fortuitous, I’m pleased to hear you at least have somewhere to live. Shall we keep looking?”

“Yeah, I think I would like to find her notes, if nothing else.” Kota said, her eyes slowly meeting Ashima’s, 

“Then we will, I think the best we can do for someone’s memory is at least do our best to understand their passions in life.” She smiled, “And through the half-light I think I saw a note on that table over there with your name on it.” Ashima pointed to the far corner. Kota walked over to it, the light revealing a table full of books and papers, atop the stack in the centre as a small envelope addressed to Kota. She picked it up and unfolded the paper within, reading it before she could think twice; she found her eyes welling with tears all too quickly.

 

 _Kota-chan,_  
  
_If you’re reading this, then it means I’m not around to keep this letter away from you (i.e. dead) sorry about that._

_I’ve written this because it means I died too fast and haven’t had the chance to tell you all the things I was supposed to, so here they all are:_

_1.   I am a bootlegger. I make moonshine, very illegally, and people LOVE IT._

_2.   I’ve made a shit-ton of money (see No. 1)_

_3.   All that money now belongs to you._

_4.   Did I mention that making moonshine is as lucrative as it is illegal? (Funny that, huh?) So if you have some sort of moral quandary over whether you should take the money, do it AFTER you’ve brought all the shit you need to set you up in life. Seriously! No “giving it away because you don’t think it’s right” bollocks, I worked hard to make it and I want to see it spent on someone I love. You._

_5.   I love you so, so much my daughter and I want to see you have a good and happy life._

_6.   Well,metaphorically see… or maybe really see if I can turn into a ghost or something, that would be kinda cool, huh?_

_7.   I want you to enjoy yourself and live your life! Be who you are without shame or fear! (But please try not to make me watch you do too many stupid things or I WILL come and haunt the shit out of you. Just think how much nagging I could do without the need to eat, sleep, or pause for breath?)_

_8.   If you want the “family business” is yours to take over, I’ve left you all my notes and how-to’s and such, you should find it all in the basement. If you don’t and want to report me or whatever then go ahead (what are they gonna do to me? I’m dead). If you can make something for people involving alcohol, they will THROW their money at you._

_9.   Maybe ignore No. 8. Makes me sound like a bad mother :( I only want you to do what makes you happy! A job will give you good structure in your life, a way to make friends and give you the money you’ll need to survive, though that third bit’s not so important (see No. 2). I’ve had an unconventional life, a dangerous one, but I made it work (thanks, in part to your father) and I want you to know that there are a multitude of different paths to take in life. Everyone will die at some point and it’s up to you to lead a life that you’re happy with, that you’re proud of._

_10.   I am sorry that I won’t be there to help you celebrate your victories and pick you up when you get knocked down, but this is the course of things and I cannot change what’s happened. So take this as your new starting point and go with all the love your father and I have for you and show the world who’s boss! You go, girl!_

_Please take care of yourself,_

_Love,_

_Mum_

 

_PS Dad says he loves you beyond anything else in the world! He’s written you his own letter, though, it’s in this basement somewhere!_

..

 

.


	16. Chapter 16

_Arghh! This one scene in this chapt — the Hinata-Naruto one — I’d planned ages back and wrote freaking_ ages _ago, but it had to wait an extra 34,000 words to see the light of day T.T_

_Whoof, bit of a wait for this one, eh? Sorry about that!_

 

 

 

 

 

“Hinataaaa you’re finally baaaaack! It’s time to  _paaartyyy!_ ” Ino’s hollering had been the thing to greet Hinata as she returned from her afternoon training session, though her flatmate’s idiotically over-excited voice had pulled a smile onto her face despite herself.

“Do you have to shout?”

“YES!” Ino was stood in front Hinata, where she pulled off her zouri, “C’mon! A good old-fashioned festival, with booze and games and people  _happy_  for once!” 

“Ugh… just give me another five hours to take a nap first.” Hinata trudged towards the kitchenette to grab a glass of water, 

“ _No!_  Hina, you’ve got just enough time to get washed and get dressed, I’ve got a kimono you can borrow.”

“So I've got time to sleep for four-and-a-half hours?” Hinata deadpanned, well aware of Ino’s ludicrous idea of “prep time”. 

“No! _”_  Ino yanked the emptied glass from her hands and span her around towards the bathroom “Go get in the shower!” She gently shoved the weary Hyuuga into the bathroom and closed the door. “I don’t hear running water!” She impatiently demanded.

“Oh my  _god!_ ” HInata impatiently snapped back as she heard Ino’s laugh of victory; Hinata slowly brushed her teeth before turning on the shower, she stripped whilst it heated and stepped under it. The hot water slowly rose her from her fatigue as she merely stood under it for a few moments, feeling the ache of her muscles begin to release. She grabbed a hold of Ino’s prized body wash. 

 

She finally left the bathroom, feeling much better for the wash and found that Ino had hung the kimono up on her wardrobe; she slowly pulled out the under layers and began to dress herself in them. She found her movements oddly slow and purposeful, as if some ritual she hadn’t been aware of was being performed, her mind returning to days when it was her mother telling her which layer to put on next and how to correctly roll them. Things were so different now, she was so different: she become both worst and better at the same time and now, here she was, in some strange slice of reality where she was better and worse still. It was truly, a confusing, wondrous, baffling, amazing time to be alive and she still isn’t sure how much she wanted it. Thank Kami-sama, at least, for Ino, whom her thoughts had turned to as she pulled on the outermost layer and tied it around herself; to finally have such a friendship in someone she’d never suspected. She’d always thought of Ino as just another beautiful, stuck up girl desperate for attention when it had rather been confidence; Hinata had always found a strange pride in her own modesty that was nothing more than insecurity. 

Ino had also left Hinata some of her make up which she decided would be a good time to indulge in. She’d worn a kimono many times but getting the obi tied was always the most difficult part and nigh on impossible for Hinata to do alone. 

“Ino?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you help me tie my obi?”

“Sure!” Ino got to her feet as quickly as her own restrictive kimono would allow, “It looks beautiful on you.” She smiled, taking hold of the long band of cloth, 

“Thanks.”

“Does it fit okay?”

“Yes… I hadn’t thought we were the same size.”

“Guess we are.” Ino replied, stretching her arms around Hinata and pulling the cloth taught, “Too tight?” 

She could feel Ino’s breath on the back of her neck and her body heat on her back, “No.” Ino tugged and pulled at the fabric for a few minutes, 

“Sorry it’s only a hitoe obi, this kimono really deserves something more formal, but I couldn’t find my other one.”

“It’s okay Ino, it’s kind of you to even let me borrow one.”

“How could I not?” Ino laughed, settling her hands on Hinata’s shoulders, “We’re going to make  _everyone_  jealous! Are you ready to go?”

“Oh, just let me grab something from my room first.” She hurried back down the hall, still able to feel the warmth of Ino’s hands, she piked up the small wrapped parcel and her purse and tucked them against her side before slipping on the traditional zouri, and rejoining Ino in the living room. They shared a smile and walked out of the door.

 

* * *

 

“Been a while since we’ve dressed up like this, huh?” Kakashi asked, his formal dark kimono striking against his silver hair; he looked tall and imposing in the formal wear, in such a different way to how he looked in uniform. He hadn’t yet put his mask on and Sakura relished the moment to look at him without it.

“Yeah, I guess it has.” Sakura replied, somewhat absentmindedly as she looked him up and down.

“Something wrong?” He asked, talking a few steps closer to her, “You can say it.” He encouraged, sensing her hesitation.

“Will you be offended, if… if I tell you that I think this looks better on you than the one you wore to our wedding?”

Kakashi’s mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged as he registered her words, “What? I chose that kimono because it matched yours!”

“I know, but…”

“You’d rather I’d have just worn whatever?” Kakashi sounded downright scandalised.

“No, I mean… I didn’t mean you didn’t look handsome then, Kakashi.”

“Ino and Kurenai  _and_ Anko all assured me that if I didn’t match you properly, then the wedding would have been a disaster!” Kakashi said and finally, Sakura couldn’t hold it in anymore as she burst out in laugher, 

“You asked Ino? And Kurenai and Anko? Hahaha! Kakashi, that’s so sweet!” 

Kakashi folded his arms over his chest and took an unimpressed frown upon his face, “Well it’s not like I had anyone else to ask!” She closed the gap between them and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Sorry I didn’t mean it like that, I should have just left it at ‘you look very handsome’.”

“Yes you should.” He muttered into her hair, his arms wrapping around her, “I’ll do—I mean, are you ready to go?”

“Hmm?”

“Ready to go? It’s about time we left.”

“Yeah, okay.” She decided not to push and they walked out of the door, Sakura locking it behind them as Kakashi pulled his mask into place, before they descended down onto the street. It was already dark, with each walkway illuminated by strings of criss-crossed lanterns. Little stalls had been set up with brightly coloured awnings offering games or drinks or food, most of which was of a freshly-baked pastry variety and smelled heavenly. The air was cool but the lights and joyous laughter of the party-goers had it feel ever so slightly warmer. Kakashi and Sakura walked, arm in arm, down the street, gently dodging others and enjoying, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, some true happiness within the walls of Konoha.

 

* * *

 

“Hinata, do you want a drink?” Ino asked, her face betraying her happiness.

“Sure, is there any saké?” Hinata asked.

“Yeah, you like it warmed, right?” Ino asked over her shoulder and turned back to the salesman at seeing Hinata’s nod, she brought the bottle and two cups over to the standing table Hinata was at, the area was crowded with plently of people at each table, but it still managed to somehow feel private enough, with Ino and Hinata to their own table, it felt not unlike a booth to themselves.

“Thanks,” She poured out the two cups and they toasted, “This is quite a change from a month ago, huh?”

“Yeah, I can’t believe everyone’s behaving themselves so far, I’d half expected a lot of people not to show up, but I guess everyone from the Land of Iron have done wonders. I can’t wait to see where the village goes from here.”

“I know, it’s like we’re on the edge of a frontier, in a strange sort of way, Ibiki’s still being a bit paranoid about everything, but things really have calmed down a lot over the past few weeks.” 

“I’m glad. What will things be like for the Intel division now that the internal problems have been smoothed?” Hinata asked, refilling their cups, 

“Hard to say, I think we’re still waiting on some direction from Tsunade-sama and the other kage’s as to what the world’s like, but I am honestly hoping to be very bored for the next few years, I’d like to think everyone’s at least a little bit sick of the fighting, however unlikely that might turn out to be.” Ino replied, rolling her eyes slightly at her own statement. 

“Yeah.” Hinata agreed, her eyes scanning over the slowly moving crowd of people around them, seeing nothing but unfamiliar faces; her hands subconsciously worrying the small box she'd picked up just before they'd left the apartment.

 

“If any of the Main House show up, I’ll be right here, okay?” Ino whispered, drawing Hinata’s attention back to her,

“Oh, that wasn’t what I was worried about, but thanks.” She smiled,

“Ah, Ino, there you are!” Lee interrupted before she could ask what Hinata  _was_  worried about. 

“Hey Lee, finally got out of that spandex, huh?”

“Ah, yes, I thought I should dress appropriately for the occasions. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes. Hinata do you want to join us? We’re taking Gai to see the new ramps, you should be there since you did most of the building.”

“Yes! You must join us, Hinata! It is thanks to you and Tsunoko-sama that we were even able to build the ramps for Gai!” Lee agreed, a happy grin on his face.

“Ah, I can’t sorry, I need to speak with Naruto, I agreed to meet him here.”

“Oh, okay, we’ll catch later, though, okay? You let me know if I need to beat him up for you.” Ino laughed,

“Ah, Naruto is honourable, I am certain that he will be a gentleman!” Lee offered, clearly missing the point, 

“It will be fine, we just need to… clear up a few things.” 

“Okay, bye!” 

 

Ino and Lee weaved through the crowd and made their way to Gai’s apartment, he’d not been very excited about the idea of the festivities, though he had cheered up considerably over the past week or so and Lee and Ino were hopeful for a successful evening. 

“Gai?” Lee called as he knocked on the door, 

“It’s open.” Gai called back and the two entered, “You two are very dressed up.”

“We wanted to celebrate tonight, you’ll come out with us, won’t you?”

“Haa, I know I had previously agreed to celebrate the festival with you, but I would far rather stay in tonight, we can still celebrate it here together, can’t we?”

“But you promised us!” Lee complained, 

“Hold on, the point of going out tonight Gai, was that we wanted to show you something, how about you come out with us just to see the surprise, then we can come back here straight after, if you want to. How about that?” Ino offered, raising her eyebrows in encouragement; Gai sighed long and low,

“How long will it take?”

“Uh… twenty minutes, maybe half an hour if you want to stop for a drink.”

“You’ve got fifteen minutes and that’s it.” 

“Roger!” Lee sprung to attention with a salute, “So are you ready to go?”

“Yes, let’s get this over with.” Gai wheeled himself to the door which Ino held open and they all filed out into the street and walked slowly towards the old balcony favoured by Gai. “So what are these surprises?”

“You’ll have to wait and see, but I think you will like them!”

 

“So there’s more than one?” Gai asked, irritation pulling at his features.

“Yes! Three to be exact, though we plan to add more at a later date, but it was all Hinata and Tsunoko-sama had time for.”

“Hinata? Hyuuga Hinata?” Gai asked,

“Yes, turns out she has a real talent for this sort of thing and very kindly agreed to help us with this project — before she even knew she  _had_  the talent!” Ino laughed, 

“What does that mean? And who is Tsunoko-sama?”

“He’s one of Mifune-sama’s friends, he specialises in teaching non-combat related chakra.”

“What?” Gai asked again, beginning to sound like a crotchety old-timer who’d forgotten everything.

“Don’t you remember me telling you? About how Mifune-sama and others from the Land of Iron came to Konoha to help instruct the civilians on how to control their chakra?”

“Hmm, yes I think I do… but what has he got to do with Hinata?”

“He taught her how to make your surprise, we were both at a loss as to where we should even start.” Ino laughed as they turned the final corner, just ahead of the ramp. “It’s just here.”

“On the balcony? I can’t get up those steps, remember.”

 

“Yes you can, look.” Lee pointed, hurrying on a head to the foot of the ramp, “We — or rather, Tsunoko-sama — build this one so that you can still access the balcony and your favourite meditation spot.”

“W-what?”

“The ramp, it will allow you to bypass the steps.” Ino said as Gai looked between them for a few moments, 

“But… how? How were you able to do this? The steps went all the way across.”

“Tsunoko-sama can use chakra to manipulate the stone and move it into any shape he wants. He made an enormous tiger statue out of the other section of the steps. I tried to tell him that he should leave them, since you are fond of tigers, but we agreed it would cause too much of an obstruction.” Lee grinned happily, and Gai rolled himself up the ramp with ease, “How does it feel? Not too steep?”

“No, no it feels perfect.” He grinned widely as he wheeled himself up and down a few times, “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“Of course we did, Gai, when we looked we couldn’t find  _any_  access ramps in Konoha, you still deserve to be able to go where you want to and enjoy the things you used to; even if it has to be modified slightly, there’s no reason why you can’t. Come on, do you want to see the others?”

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Hinata, you look beautiful.” His voice was honest, but she couldn’t help but hear the slight trace of hopeful adoration colouring his words,

“Thank you, Naruto.” She hesitated a moment, feeling awkward but even as she gripped the small box in her hand, it reminded her of why she’d needed to see him; she wished Ino was still at her side to give her a nudge in the right direction. But she didn’t  _need_  someone to give her that nudge, she knew what she needed to do and closing this door would bee good for them both. She took half a step closer to Naruto, catching his attention; he looked handsome in his traditional wear, the lantern light catching his bright eyes, though Hinata clearly felt the difference. She saw him as handsome from an objective viewpoint and the recognition of him stirred nothing in her.

“Naruto, you understand what I told you back in my father’s study? I don’t want to get back together with you, but I do want us to still be friends.”

“Of course! But… Hinata…” Naruto seemed to be struggling to find the right words, 

“Can you accept it, Naruto?” She asked, gently,

“Yeah, I get it… and I heard what you told me, but…  _Iruka_.” Something in him told him to  _not let go._

“I’ve been thinking about that, come with me?” She gripped the small, carefully wrapped package, Naruto nodded and followed her through the thronging crowds until they were alone in a quiet side street, “Iruka’s favourite spot was the training posts in Ground 3, wasn’t it?” 

“Yeah, he always wanted to hear that story of when I got tied to them, on that first training day with Kakashi.”

Hinata smiled, “That was his favourite story, hearing about how his dad finally got to be a ninja and how you met Uncle Kakashi.”

“Yeah,” Naruto agreed, the bittersweet recollection tasting acrid on his tongue, “Where are we going?”

 

“To Training Ground 3.” Hinata replied gently and they walked in silence, crossing the damp grass in the fading evening, the last light of the day just enough to see by, they stopped by the training logs, “I guess we can’t leave it right here, it would interfere with training and it might get knocked and dirtied, why don’t we choose the spot by the old KIA stone? Just out the way?”

“For what?” Naruto tried to keep his tone even, but he could feel the frustration and confusion gnawing at him.

“For this.” Hinata carefully unwrapped the parcel, inside it was a small, sewn wreath of dried flowers, a finely painted tile, two  _ojuzu_  and a small candle. She cleared a small space on the ground, beside one of the overgrown bushes and placed the wreath down onto the tile, setting and lighting the small candle in front of it. “Iruka might not have really existed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything to remember him,” She handed Naruto one of the  _ojuzu,_  “Iruka would be turning six in little over a month, I wish I could have gotten to give him his present.”

“H-Hinata…”

“He was real to us, what we experienced was real to us, Naruto and I think it’s only appropriate that we honour that memory, his memory…  _our memories_. I’m sorry that that’s all they’ll ever be, memories of things which didn’t really happen, but I still think they have a place in our lives and they don’t deserve to be simply tossed away.” She said, looking up at Naruto who only managed a nod, tears making determined tracks down his cheeks, “Whatever happens next, wherever our lives go from here, he will still always be our son and you will always be my husband… sort of.” She ended awkwardly and Naruto finally let out a breath of laughter, 

“Thank you, Hinata… I know things can’t go back and I know you want to move on and I support you, but I guess I just… can’t.”

“You will feel better, Naruto, we will always have our memories of him. If you ever want to talk about him, you can always find me.” She pulled him into a hug, struggling to reconcile how divided she felt. Of how she recalled feeling Naruto’s arms around her once made her heart beat so fast she thought she would pass out but now, she only felt the warmth of him blocking out the cold autumn night’s air. Of how the world had never been more broken but united. Of how she had never felt more powerful and in control since her father had cast her out. 

Of how she could possibly be so calm at the grave of her son.

 

…

 

She and Naruto had walked slowly back to the festival, talking about their memories of Iruka and each politely skirted the memories of their being together until at last they reached the lights and noise of the festival and parted ways.

“I am sorry to hurt you Naruto.”

“It’s okay, it’s better you’re being honest. Catch you later?”

“Sure.” He waved goodbye and disappeared into the crowd. Hinata was not much in the mood for cramp and crowded — any more than she really had been earlier — though Ino’s enthusiasm had swept her out the door with a smile on her face before she knew what was what. But she was cool from the stilted conversation with Naruto and the step back she had asked him to take. She wished Ino had been waiting for her and they could have gone for a quiet drink and an honest conversation, she would rather have Ino’s warm smile and kind confidence than than the multitude of drunken bodies and mindless noise. Tonight was an evening for sombre thoughts and wishing the dead well on their journey. Iruka would never be more than a memory and had never been anything other than a dream, but Hinata hoped that his spirit was well and that he had nothing that might tie him to the earth. She skirted the main street for a little while, feeling the chill of the night air worsen until she found a small bar, with only a handful of people sat at the odd table.

“Good evening! Please come in!” The man behind the bar greeting enthusiastically, turning everyone’s attention on to her, “What would you like to drink?” He asked at a more sensible volume as she approached the bar.

“A bottle of warm saké, please.” Hinata spoke a little more stiffly than she’d intended, trying to quell the urge to punish the man for creating such a scene; she’d wanted a quiet place to avoid such a thing.

“Of course! Coming right up!” He placed a cup in front of her on the bar and turned to fetch a bottle of already warming rice wine, he placed both on a tray, “Where are you sitting?”

“I can carry it myself, thank you.” She picked up the tray and carried it over to the far corner, as far from the owner’s unnecessarily loud manner as possible. She slid onto the bench seat, grateful for their high backs and poured herself a cup full of the rich wine; she looked around the bar, quickly finding the gaze of an unaccompanied man. She averted her gaze quickly, annoyed that he’d ruined her undirected gaze so quickly. He’d offered a quick expression in the few seconds she’d been looking at him, something along the lines of  _“well?”_ Hinata half wished she’d brought a book with her just to look busy and not have him bother her, but alas.

 

“So here you are, we’ve been looking all over!” Ino’s voice drew her attention as she stood with Gai,

“I-Ino?”

“We’ve been looking for you! May we join?”

“O-of course.” Hinata sat up straighter, clearing her head of consuming thoughts.

“Hinata-san! How are you? Are you enjoying the festival?” Lee asked as he walked over to the table and put down a tray of saké; Ino pushed Gai’s wheelchair up to the table and slid into the seat opposite her, Lee taking the free seat beside her. He began pouring out cupfuls for each of them,

“Hinata, it seems I have you to thank for my ramps.” Gai said, “It was very kind of you to help build them.”

“Of course, Gai, I was more than happy to help.”

“Hey, are you all right?” Ino asked quietly her blue eyes boring into Hinata’s, “You looked kinda lost there for a second.”

“Yeah, I was just… thinking, I talked to Naruto.”

“Oh,  _oh._ Is everything… okay?”

“Yeah, yeah it is,” She smiled, “We just, needed to put some things to rest and, I think we have. But it’s not really the time to talk about it now. How did Gai like the ramps?” 

Ino smiled broadly, “He’s here isn’t he?” And she turned her head to look at him, leading Hinata’s gaze as they both saw him grinning and reaching over to hand Ino her cup and gesture for Hinata’s.

“Thank you.” 

 

“We must all toast together, the recent months have been a trying time for us all, we should put them all aside tonight and do our best to move forwards and look only to the future… thought I admit I think I have been wallowing in my sadness for the longest among us…” Gai cleared his throat, “But I still want to take this as a starting point. As has been pointed out to me on several occasions, we are all alive and together, the village has been largely restored, we should take our chances to rejoice.”

“Hear, hear!” Lee cheered.

“Yeah!” They all spoke together and raised their cups before drinking them back, 

“I’m pleased you’re feeling better, Gai, I’m sorry it’s been such a difficult transition.” Hinata offered as she lowered her cup back down to the table.

“You are kind to say so, Hinata, but there are always tests and mountains we must climb… I am ashamed that it took me so long to remember that.” Gai’s face fell slightly and Lee refilled his cup.

“I’d defy anyone to claim they haven’t forgotten at least one thing through their lives, Gai, the point is that you remembered.”

“Yes, yes of course! I suppose that is apt for this festival, it is in honour of a good number of memories, isn’t it?” Gai had meant it kindly, though the sudden weight that descended upon the group was unmistakable. “Ah, but, it is also about fresh starts and beginning anew. My future is unknown to me — to all of us, I think — but we’ve got our past experiences to guide us and we will have to trust in ourselves and our friends.” Gai had closed his eyes as he spoke (as often he had done with matter close to his heart). 

Hinata had found that her eyes had settled upon Ino, whose gaze was firmly on Gai, the illuminations catching the angles and shadows of her face, her expression as soft as the light. She turned suddenly and their gazes met but her expression didn’t change, whether she’d noticed Hinata’s staring or simply didn’t care she had no idea, but they stared and stared at each other. Ino was telling her a thousand undecipherable things with those big blue eyes and Hinata could do nothing but look back and absorb it all in whilst she forgot that her face was capable of making expressions. 

 

“Hey, do you two want to order any food?” Lee’s voice cut through the moment with such precision Hinata felt her body tense with the restrained reflex to lash out an attack; 

“Huh?” Ino asked catching Gai’s pointed stare before focusing firmly on Lee, “Oh, yeah I could do with something to eat, what’s the menu like?” He handed her the copy in his hands, “Uh… I guess I wouldn’t say no to pork bun or two. Hinata?” She handed the menu to her, though her eyes would not focus well on the text. 

“Um, yeah, I’d like a pork bun, too.”

“You guys can split an order if you like,” Gai suggested, “Oh, they do a sharing box, where you can get a selection… I guess its for people for people who don’t want meat?” He looked thoroughly innocent as he looked up from his own menu, though Ino still shot his a dark glare. 

“They all meat bun in that box, though?” Lee asked, clearly confused, “Or are you looking at a different one, Gai?” He leaned over to try and read his menu, 

“No, I think he’s just been looking  _a bit too closely_ ,” Ino replied, her stare fixed on Gai, who was clearly desperately trying to reign in his grin, “He might need his eyes checked.”

“Hello! May I take your orders?” The same boisterous man from behind the bar appeared,

“Yakitori, side of grilled karrage and egg rice, please.” Gai ordered, 

“Katsudon, please!” Asked Lee,

“The sharing box of assorted buns, please.” Ino ordered, and the man bowed and walked away after Hinata shook her head, not feeling all that hungry.

 

* * *

 

For how long they’d run, Suzuru had no idea; her abs ached from the tension of being slung over a shoulder and her feet had long gone numb from the lack of movement and her face from the cold air. The light had long faded and the only reason she knew they were still running through woods was the occasional thwack she received from the foliage and the long, haunting calls of owls; she felt as if all her senses and agency had been switched off and all she could do was be carried. Eventually Etsuko slowed to a halt and set Suzuru down to her feet, though she immediately stumbled and struggled to catch herself in the dark.

“Easy, easy.” Etsuko’s strong arms steadied her, “We’ll stop here for the night, I have a hide up in the trees.”

“What the hell?”

“A hide? It’s not that rare—”

“No, I mean… you’re a Hunter Nin? What the fuck?”

“Oh, right… well, I knew you didn’t exactly like shinobi and not even people who like shinobi like  _Hunter Nin_  for Kami-sama’s sake, so I just decided to hide that fact and I have been doing a damn good job for the past twenty odd years, thank you.”

“Twenty…  _years_  you’ve been a Hunter Nin?”

“Yes, but we’ll talk more about this in a minute, let’s get into the hide and get a fire started, I’m cold and I’ve been the one running, I can only imagine how cold you must be.” Etsuko said, “Come on, I think you do realise that I’m not your enemy. Satou and his cronies are your enemies, but I’m not, okay?”

“…Yeah.” Suzuru replied, instinctively knowing the truth to her friend’s words, or maybe she just didn’t have the energy to question them, getting out of the damp night and a fire sounded great right about now. She felt Etsuko’s hand on her back as she walked them through the leaf litter, her eyes had adjusted enough for her to see the vague outlines of the shapes around her.

“Watch your eyes as we duck under the branches,” Had been Etsuko’s warning — and in good time — though Suzuru still felt the branches tangle into her hair,

“Ow.”

 

“Tree still go you? Here.” She could hear the laughter on Etsuko’s voice as even has her hands swiftly untangled her, “Keep low until you feel the trunk.”

“Okay, got it.”

“Do you know how to direct chakra to your hands and feet?”

“Uh, I think so.”

“Do it… then climb the tree.”

“There are no bran… that’s why you said chakra.”

“Bingo!” Etsuko laughed, “You go first so if you fall, I’ll catch you, just focus on keeping your chakra flowing to your hands and feet and you should stick like a bug;” Etsuko didn’t need to be able to see Suzuru to be able to guess what face she was showing, “And don't give me that look, Suzu, you’ll be fine.” 

 

Grumbling under her breath, Suzuru directed her chakra to her hands and feet, though found her Subete Miru also activating, “Why does this tree have chakra?” She asked as she touched her hand to the trunk, as high as she could reach and found that it did indeed stick to the tree,

“I wouldn’t bother activating your doujutsu now, it’s a bit of a waste of chakra.”

“It just did when I called upon my chakra.”

“Okay, first lesson tomorrow will be chakra control. Just climb for now.” And so they did, it felt to Suzuru as if the climb would never end, the only intermissions were her foot or hand slipping every now and then, but Etsuko had been there to catch her. “It should be just ahead.”

“Ouch!” Suzuru replied, stubbing her fingers on some obstruction or other, most likely the hide, Suzuru stretched out her hand only for it to find empty space, she waved it around erratically for a few moments until it came to rest, flat on a smooth surface, “What the—?”

“Crawl in, it’s the hide.” Etsuko explained and Suzuru awkwardly scrambled over the edge, sighing with relief of being on firm, level surface again. Etsuko climbed in after her and whispered some words, “What?”

  
“Just sealing the door so no one can follow us in or see the firelight... and neither can the cold. Here.” Etsuko explained before whispering a few more words and a lick of bright flame burst into life, forcing Suzuru to squeeze her eyes shut, “Sorry I should have warned you.” 

 

“It’s okay.” Suzuru breathed as she slowly opened her eyes and allowed them to adjust, inching forwards a little, greedy for the warmth of the flames; Etsuko shed her pack and began to dig inside it, pulling out a small piece of matting, 

“Here, sit on this, the wood won’t be enough to stop a chill this time of year and your clothes will be wet.” She handed her the material and Suzuru did as she was told, quickly realising how right Etsuko was. 

“So… why are you helping me? Isn’t Satou your… boss?”

“No! I report directly the Mizukage, I won’t bore you with the details, but after Mei-sama took over, she shook a lot of things up in Mist, I don’t think a lot of the civilian population is really aware of just how things have changed, but the Hunter Nin’s essentially dissented — a lot of them wanted to keep the old systems — but I and a handful of others sided with Mei-sama, we wanted change to happen and it is, slowly but surely.” Etsuko explained as she handed a packet to Suzuru, “Rations are all we have for dinner, I’m afraid.” 

Suzuru took the packet but didn't open it immediately, “So… you’re the reason Satou hasn’t killed me yet?”

“Won’t kill you.” Etsuko corrected, through a mouthful, “But yes, in essence; Mei-sama ordered me to keep a close eye on you, we suspected Satou might try and kill you or imprison you, so I prevented that.”

“How? Why?”

“We’ve had that apartment for a long time, Suzu, plenty of time for me to set the right traps and hide it from unfriendly eyes.”

“Eh?”

“Don’t feel bad for not spotting them, trapping and tracking are my top two skills, ya know.” She grinned, taking another bite of her rations and Suzuru slowly opened her own and took a small bite (the bar looked and smell awful and didn’t exactly taste great, but she  _was_  hungry).   


 

“Did you know I had a kekkei-genkai before I told you?” She asked slowly, watching her friend carefully, 

“Yeah, Mei-sama had been keeping a close eye on you and your family before she even took over as Mizukage; the Futusatome clan was revered and there were a lot of people who suspected that not all of them had been killed.” Etsuko said, pausing to finish off her dinner, “And you and your sister raised a lot of eyebrows, twins are not exactly common in Mist, if you haven’t noticed.” Now that Etsuko had pointed it out, she  _hadn’t_  met any other twins in Mist…

“But… Ensei…”

“Yeah, I am sorry about your sister, Mei-sama did her best to protect Ensei and stop any of the Hunter Nin getting their hands on her, but Satou had been keeping just as close an eye on Ensei as Mei-sama had been and unfortunately for your sister, more evil friends. I tried to help her, Mei-sama ordered me out to assist Ensei with her mission as soon as she found out, but I got there too late. I’m so sorry, Suzu.”

She didn’t say anything for a good long while whilst she took slow, mindless bites of food, “I had no idea you even knew Ensei… outside of being my sister.”

“I didn’t really, I avoided her as much as possible because I always loved hanging out with you and I was worried that you wouldn’t want to keep being my friend if you knew I was shinobi, especially in that department. I’ve always wanted to keep my personal and professional life separate. They’re both me and they’re both right, but I never really wanted them to ever “meet” so to speak, even though a part of me knew that would be impossible to maintain forever. And after the fourth war and we all discovered what had happened, it became even more important for me to keep up appearances.”

“Because of my bloodline?”

“Because I knew you’d need a friend more than ever… though I am a bit surprised you didn’t figure me out sooner, can’t your eyes see through objects? Can’t you see peoples’ chakra?”

“I never… actually look at you.” Suzuru let out a cynical laugh, “Stupidly trusting, huh? I always thought I was cleverer than that.”

 

“You’ve always been a kind and trusting person, Suzu, and I don’t have many people in my life like that. I love those qualities in you, I think they’re important to keep.” 

“Meeooowww!” A sudden cry broke the tension, Etsuko grinned and formed the handseals to open the hide and Spring Onion hopped in, 

“What the fuck?” Suzuru snapped, “Onion?”

“How’s she doing?” The cat asked, his bright green eyes scanning Suzuru, “Seems you both got away easily enough.”

“We did, thanks to you, Onion. Are you injured?”

“Naw, though that asshole Satou grabbed me roughly, he was no match for my claws.”

“Good.”

“What. The. FUCK?” Suzuru cut through, her eyes bulging at the talking cat.

“He’s a ninja cat, Suzu.” Etsuko explained, but Suzuru could only open and close her mouth a few times in unsuccessful attempts to start a sentence, 

“You’re a cat… who talks… and you’re supposed to be a ninja?”

“Yes.” He replied, already exasperated, “Well, I’m not a ninja, but I am sensitive to chakra and have above average intelligence for a cat and yes, I can reply to human speech. Though it’s not widely considered to be anything special among the house cats, they don’t take us nin cats very seriously.”

“Your name is  _Spring Onion_ , of course they wouldn’t take you seriously…”

“Tell that to MooMoo Sprinkles.” 

 

The sheer absurdity of everything that had happened finally caught up to Suzuru and she just couldn’t contain herself any longer and she burst into laugher which almost had her fainting for want of oxygen within moments. Spring Onion was in a far less chipper mood and turned back to Etsuko, “Mei says to move as quickly as you can but not until you’re certain that you haven’t been followed, I’ll be your liaison to her until you reach Konoha. She recommends you go from the Southern port of Shuuma, she says she has an old friend there who will help you. His name is Takarai.”

“Okay, thanks Onion. How is the village?”

“Most of the Hunter Nin are out for blood, mostly of embarrassment, but Mei and Ao are keeping them in line so far. I’ll catch up with you at Shuuma… assuming she doesn’t die of hyperventilation first.” The cat turned to glare at the still hysterical Suzuru, who upon catching sight of the cat again only laughed harder.

“Thanks, Onion, see you soon.” Etsuko smiled at the cat and opened the door for him and he was gone in an instant. “Suzu, really? Onion’s one of our best assets, you shouldn’t laugh at him.”

“Bu—ut—-he’s a fucking  _cat—_ MooMoo Sp—” Suzuru couldn’t even get a word out before another peal of laughter cut her off and Etsuko merely sighed and began to set out the sleeping bags.

 

* * *

 

 

“Good night, Gai, Lee.” Hinata bowed politely to them both,   


“Good night Hinata, we’re rooting for you!” He whispered with a genial smile before he turned to Ino, “Thank you, Ino. I hope to you’ll consider training with me sometime soon.”

“Of course! Just let me know when, Gai. Goodnight.” Ino grinned her response.

“Good night… be sure to use protection!” He grinned wickedly as he wheeled himself around and down the street, cackling as he went, before Ino decided it was acceptable to punch a guy in a wheelchair. 

“Oi!” Ino shouted after him, though thought better of shouting the rest of her sentence, “Asshole.” They both turned to walk back towards Ino’s apartment, neither entirely sure how to bridge the awkward gap of conversation. “Um, sorry Gai was being so embarrassing.”

“It’s okay.” Hinata replied, watching her breath condense in the cold air; they were soon well out of lights of the main party and the quiet streets with the low hum of noise and people just out of reach left Ino feeling the intimacy of the moment. She felt entirely wired but even as she carefully watched Hinata from the corner of her eyes, she saw how tired she was - so was Ino - and despite Gai's buffoonery, she thought it best simply to enjoy the fruits of a successful evening. Their walk back home and close and comfortable as they bumped shoulders a handful of times, Ino sure that Hinata was just as grateful for them to have only each other for company once again; there was really no need to rush, after all and just as Gai had always told her: being too early can be just as bad as being too late.

 

..

 

.


End file.
